Artiben Shashankbhai Vasa vs Shashank Praflchandra Vasa
2022 Latest Caselaw 9072 Guj

     C/FA/1120/2012                               ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022




           IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                      R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 1120 of 2012

                                  With
                      R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 1640 of 2011
==========================================================
                ARTIBEN SHASHANKBHAI VASA & 1 other(s)
                              Versus
               SHASHANK PRAFLCHANDRA VASA & 4 other(s)
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR VIJAY PATEL WITH MS.DEVANSHIBA RANA FOR HL PATEL
ADVOCATES(2034) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2
DELETED for the Defendant(s) No. 2
LD.SR.ADV.MR.MEHUL S.SHAH ASSISTED BY JENIL M SHAH(7840) for
the Defendant(s) No. 1,3
MR VISHAL C MEHTA(6152) for the Defendant(s) No. 4,5
==========================================================

 CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI
       and
       HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE NISHA M. THAKORE

                              Date : 13/10/2022

                           ORAL ORDER

(PER : HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI)

1. The appellant filed Special Civil Suit

No.159 of 1999 in the Court of learned 2nd

Additional Senior Civil Judge, Valsad at

Vapi seeking Rs.50 Lakh towards the mental

torture and cruelty and other respondent to

pay Rs.10 Lakh for mental torture. Learned

2nd Additional Senior Civil Judge allowed

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

the suit and granted Rs.5 Lakh towards the

mental cruelty. This has aggrieved the

appellant, who is seeking following

prayers:

"7...

(a) Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the defendants Nos.1 to 3 shall pay Rs.50 Lakh to the plaintiffs towards for practicing mental torture and cruelty; and defendant Nos.4 to 5 shall pay Rs.10 Lakh each for practicing mental torture and cruelty and the defendant No.1 shall pay an amount of Rs.12,60,000/- towards the arrears of maintenance and defendant No.1 shall pay Rs.20,000/- towards maintenance to the plaintiff No.1 and Rs.10,000/- to plaintiff No.2 from the date of the institution of the suit;

(b) Grant such other and further relief/s as may be deemed fit and proper in the interest of justice."

2. First Appeal No.1640 of 2011 has been

preferred by the original defendant

Mr.Shashank Praflchandra Vasa, which is an

appeal against the very judgment and decree

passed by the learned 2nd Additional Senior

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

Civil Judge, Valsad, which has allowed Rs.5

Lakh. Thus, this is a cross appeal

questioning and challenging the grant of

amount of Rs.5 Lakh so also the amount of

maintenance from 01.09.1996 to 07.09.1999

to the tune of Rs.5,000/- to the appellant

No.1 and Rs.3,000/- to the appellant No.2.

Thereafter, from 22.03.2011 the amount of

Rs.5,000/- to appellant No.1 and Rs.5,000/-

to appellant No.2 is allowed.

3. It appears that many attempts were made

for the parties to amicably settle the

dispute. The appellant No.2 in the First

Appeal No.1120 of 2012 is the child

begotten out of the said marriage. She has

moved abroad for her studies and is also

attempting to settle in her career.

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

4. These being family matters of the years

2011 and 2012, at the time of final

hearing, we had proposed the parties to

explore the possibility of amicable

settlement. We note with appreciation that

the learned senior advocate, Mr.H.L.Patel

appearing for the appellant wife and the

daughter and the learned senior counsel,

Mr.Mehul S. Shah appearing for defendant

Nos.1 and 3 have made strenuous attempt to

work out the settlement and the parties by

mutual consent have chosen to prepare a

draft of terms of settlement. It would be

apt to reproduce the entire draft at this

stage.

"The parties to the appeal are agreed to the following terms for overall settlement of the disputes inter se between them, as under:

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

1. Following Litigations are pending between the parties:

(a) Criminal Case No. 310/2006 under section 494 of LP.C. filed by Artiben Shashankbhai Vasa is pending before the Chief Judicial Megistrate Court at Vapi.

(b) Criminal Appeal No. 22 of 2021 is pending before the Sessions Court at Vapi. The Appeal is arising out of the order of acquittal passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vapi in Criminal Case No. 2065 of 2014 under Section 498A etc.

(c) First Appeal No. 1640 of 2011 filed by Shashank Prafulbhai Vasa and others, challenging the order passed by Additional Senior Civil Judge, Vapi, in Special Civil Suit No. 159 of 1999, and First Appeal No. 1120 of 2012 filed by Artiben Shashankbhai Vasa and another, challenging the said order and both appeals are pending before Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat.

2. The parties are agreed to the following terms:

(a) The dispute between the parties are to be settled finally and all the parties have to relieve each other from all litigations either by filing a compromise or to file consent quashing petition or to get disposed off all the matter permanently in Lok Adalat or any other mode found proper and legal.

(b) The Second Party-Artiben Vasa and Dhwani Vasa both

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

are to be paid permanent lump sum alimony, maintenance and compensation of Rs.50,00,000/- as full and final settlement.

(c) The First Party Shashankbhai Vasa shall deposit the amount of compensation as aforesaid in the Court of Civil Judge at Vapi, within a period of 3 months from today and the said amount shall be released in favour of Artiben Shashanbhai Vasa by the Court of Civil Judge, Vapi after disposal of all the pending litigations and after the consent divorce decree passed, Artiben Vasa will file appropriate application for withdrawal of litigation and/or disposal of the litigation only after total amount is deposited by Shashankbhai Vasa.

(d) The parties are agreed to place the present settlement as well as the judgment and decree that may be passed in these appeals in the proceedings of Criminal Appeal No. 22 of 2021 pending in Sessions Court at Vapi and also in proceedings of Criminal Case No. 2065 of 2014 pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vapi with a prayer to drop the proceedings.

(e) An additional amount of Rs. 13,50,000/- shall be deposited by Shashankbhai Vasa within a period of 10 days from today with Court of Civil Judge at Vapi and the same shall be disbursed in favour of Artiben Vasa forthwith.

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

(f) The marriage of the Appellant No.1- Artiben Vasa and Respondent No.1- Shashankbhai Vasa was solemnized may ordered to be stood dissolved as a part of the terms of this settlement in these proceedings while passing the final judgement and decree.

(g) The parties have to co-operate each other in disposing of all pending litigations.

(h) Upon acceptance of the lump sum compensation as determined aforesaid by this Hon'ble Court, Artiben Vasa and Dhwani Vasa shall have no right or interest upon the properties of Shashankbhai Vasa.

(i) The parties shall not initiate any other proceedings pursuant to present litigation or any other litigation in future.

(j) The aforesaid settlement is subject to the payment of amount as aforesaid and receipt of the same by Artiben Vasa and also subject to the withdrawal/disposal of all pending litigation mentioned hereinabove."

5. We have noticed that the sum of

Rs.13.50 Lakh which is an additional amount

to be deposited is for the period of 1996

to 1999 and the amount of maintenance had

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

been given to the appellant Nos.1 and 2 and

that is an amount of arrears for all these

years and no interest is included in that

amount. That being the sum which both the

appellants were entitled to, the same has

been excluded from the total amount of

permanent alimony of Rs.50 Lakh decided by

way of full and final settlement.

6. The power of attorney given to the

mother by the daughter is produced in the

form of soft copy, which has already been

shared. However, the hard copy shall be

presented before this Court within a period

of two weeks. Let the e-copy of the power

of attorney be presented to this Court till

then.

7. We notice that there are couple of

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

litigations pending before the Competent

Courts by and between the parties, one of

them is the Criminal Case No.3102 of 2006

under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code

pending before the Court of learned Chief

Judicial Magistrate at Vapi. It is ensured

that the appellant-Artiben shall withdraw

the same and if it is not done, the same

shall stand disposed of after three months

once the amount of Rs.50 Lakh is realized.

The Criminal Appeal No.22 of 2021 pending

before the Sessions Court at Vapi arising

from the order of acquittal passed by the

learned Chief Judicial Magistrate in

Criminal Case No.2065 of 2014 under Section

498 A of the Code of Criminal Procedure

also shall be requested to be disposed of

by the parties after once the terms are

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

fulfilled in this matter.

8. The State since is not a party to these

terms of settlement, the request shall be

made to the Court concerned by the parties.

Both the sides shall cooperate in the

spirit of the compromise the State is

expected to cooperate.

9. The Court is conscious that both these

appeals arise from the Special Civil Suit

No.159 of 1999 from the Court of learned

2nd Additional Senior Civil Judge, Vapi,

where the appellant and her daughter had

sought the amount of compensation on

account of cruelty as also the maintenance.

However, taking the benefit of Order XXIII

of the Code of Civil Procedure, which

permits the compromise on any other issue

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

other than the one which is in challenge in

the Civil Suit, where the parties have

sought for the dissolution of the marriage.

Since all the disputes relating to the

matrimonial are being fully and finally

settled, on fulfillment of the terms, which

have been incorporated and particularly on

giving of the amount of permanent alimony

of Rs.50 Lakh within a period of three

months and prior to that, on deposit of

Rs.13.50 Lakh before this Court instead of

the Court at Vapi within a period of 10

days from today, the marriage solemnized

between the parties on 05.07.1991 shall

stand dissolved as part of the terms of the

settlement in this proceedings.

10. Both the parties are expected to

C/FA/1120/2012 ORDER DATED: 13/10/2022

cooperate with each other and in the event

of any default in deposit of the amount as

scheduled or non withdrawal of matter as

ensured, either side shall be at liberty to

revive the challenge or initiate the action

permitted under the law.

11. Both these appeals stand disposed of in

the above terms of settlement.

(SONIA GOKANI, J)

(NISHA M. THAKORE,J) M.M.MIRZA