Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

Second anticipatory bail plea not maintainable after supreme court rejection, Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that an accused cannot file a second anticipatory bail application after the High Court has rejected the first plea and the Supreme Court has declined to interfere. The Court ruled that a subsequent compromise between the parties does not justify bypassing binding directions issued by the Supreme Court.

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12 hours ago | [YT] | 101

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

Can a spouse withdraw consent to a mutual-consent divorce after signing a mediated settlement?

The Supreme Court has clarified that these are two separate legal questions.

A party may withdraw consent to mutual-consent divorce before the final decree is passed. However, that does not automatically cancel a court-referred mediation settlement that was voluntarily executed, authenticated by the mediator, accepted before the court, and substantially acted upon.

In Dhananjay Rathi v. Ruchika Rathi, the parties had entered into a detailed settlement covering alimony, jewellery, property transfers, withdrawal of proceedings, and dissolution of marriage. The husband paid ₹75 lakh as the first instalment, ₹14 lakh for a car, returned the jewellery listed in the agreement, and withdrew his contested divorce petition. The wife also performed substantial obligations under the settlement.

The wife later withdrew consent to the second motion and relied on alleged oral promises concerning additional jewellery and gold that were not recorded in the written settlement.

The Supreme Court held that a party cannot ordinarily walk away from a concluded mediation settlement merely because they have changed their mind. Such a settlement may generally be challenged only where force, fraud, undue influence, or non-fulfilment of a written condition by the other party is established.

The Court rejected reliance on unrecorded oral assurances, quashed the domestic-violence proceedings, dissolved the marriage under Article 142 on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, and directed both parties to complete the remaining settlement obligations.

The practical lesson is simple: every important promise must be written clearly into the settlement.

Payments, jewellery, stridhan, property transfers, withdrawal of cases, timelines, and consequences of default should never be left to informal discussions or oral assurances.

A party may withdraw consent to mutual divorce. But a voluntarily signed and acted-upon mediation settlement cannot be treated as a casual or tentative arrangement.

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15 hours ago | [YT] | 126

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

R@pe acquittal doesn't end civil liability for false promise of marriage, Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that a man's acquittal in a r@pe case does not prevent a woman from pursuing a civil claim for damages if she alleges that her consent to a physical relationship was obtained through a false promise of marriage. The Court ruled that criminal acquittal and civil liability operate on different legal principles, and an acquittal on technical grounds does not automatically extinguish civil responsibility.

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16 hours ago | [YT] | 214

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

Strict proof of marriage not necessary for maintenance if couple lived as husband and wife, Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a woman cannot be denied maintenance merely because she is unable to strictly prove a legally valid marriage, especially where the parties lived together as husband and wife and had a child. The Court ruled that Section 125 CrPC is a social welfare provision and must be interpreted to prevent destitution rather than defeated by technical objections.

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20 hours ago | [YT] | 341

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

No Property Rights Through ‘Ghardamad’ Without Proven Custom: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that merely describing a person as a ghardamad (resident son-in-law) does not automatically give him inheritance rights. The Court ruled that unless a specific customary practice is legally proved, an uncle-in-law cannot adopt his niece's husband as a ghardamad for succession to property.

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1 day ago | [YT] | 233

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

Adding r@pe charges to force settlements? Delhi HC flags growing trend in matrimonial disputes

The Delhi High Court has expressed concern over what it described as a growing trend of adding serious allegations such as r@pe and s@xual assault in matrimonial disputes to pressure in-laws into expensive settlements. While staying criminal proceedings against two brothers-in-law, the Court observed that such allegations are increasingly being added after the Supreme Court's Arnesh Kumar judgment, which restricted automatic arrests in dowry ha*assment cases.

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1 day ago | [YT] | 727

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

Caring for parents isn’t a valid ground to leave marriage and claim maintenance, MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a husband's care and attention towards his parents, or disagreements with in-laws, cannot by themselves justify a wife leaving the matrimonial home and claiming maintenance. The Court observed that a son supporting and caring for his parents is a normal part of Indian family life and cannot be treated as legal fault.

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1 day ago | [YT] | 522

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

Illegal detention violates Article 21, Allahabad High Court frees husband kept in jail without valid remand

The Allahabad High Court has ordered the release of a husband who continued to remain in a Uttar Pradesh jail even after the investigating officer concluded that the alleged matrimonial offence had occurred in Uttarakhand. Holding his detention illegal, the Court observed that no person can be kept in custody without a valid judicial remand order.

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2 days ago | [YT] | 291

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

High Court replaces father’s physical visitation with video calls in child custody case

The Gujarat High Court has stayed a Family Court order granting a father temporary physical visitation rights to his minor son and replaced it with virtual visitation through video conferencing. The Court observed that in-person meetings could lead to further disputes between the estranged parents, affecting the child's welfare.

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2 days ago | [YT] | 575

Law Chambers of Amish Aggarwala

Child should not be used as a pawn in matrimonial disputes, Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has temporarily transferred the custody of a five year old girl to her father, observing that a child should never be used as a pawn in matrimonial disputes. The Court found that the child had allegedly been heavily tutored to make serious allegations against her father that were beyond her age and understanding.

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2 days ago | [YT] | 346