The Unraveling: A Quarter-Century Marriage, Fifteen Years Apart, and the Supreme Court's Final Word

Sometimes, a marriage just isn't meant to last. And for one couple, whose union spanned a quarter of a century but saw them living apart for a staggering fifteen years, the final curtain has been drawn, not by personal reconciliation, but by the highest court in the land – the Supreme Court of India, no less.

It's a poignant end, you see, to a saga marked by what the court itself termed "acrimony and bitterness." These aren't just legal terms; they speak to a deeply human struggle, a relationship that, for reasons perhaps best known only to the husband, Sanjay Kumar, and the wife, Sunita Devi, had curdled into something truly unsalvageable.

The court, exercising its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution – powers reserved, mind you, for cases where "complete justice" must be delivered – effectively cut the knot. This isn't a power used lightly; it's for those rare, almost impossible situations where traditional legal avenues have simply run their course, leaving an intractable deadlock.

Their story, in truth, is one of prolonged estrangement. Married in 1998, the couple went their separate ways by 2008. Fifteen years is a long time for anyone to live apart, and one has to wonder, honestly, what kind of life they built during that interim, each perhaps harboring their own grievances. Sunita Devi, the wife, had levelled serious accusations against her husband, alleging cruelty and desertion, claiming he’d failed to provide maintenance. And, well, Sanjay Kumar, the husband, he too had his own claims of cruelty against her. It was, you could say, a bitter stalemate.

Over the years, various attempts were made to bridge the chasm. Mediation, a common and often hopeful avenue in such disputes, was tried – not once, but several times. Each effort, however, proved fruitless. The cracks were simply too deep, the animosity too ingrained. Even with a daughter, now grown and married, the parents couldn't find common ground. Their child's independent life, it seems, did little to mend their fractured relationship.

So, the Supreme Court looked at all of this. They observed the prolonged separation, the failed mediations, the reciprocal allegations. And what they saw, frankly, was a "dead marriage." It’s a powerful, almost haunting phrase, isn't it? A marriage that exists only on paper, devoid of life, love, or even mutual respect. To prolong such a union, the court reasoned, would only perpetuate the misery for both parties. It would be, to put it plainly, cruel.

In granting the divorce, the court didn’t just end the legal bond; it also sought to provide a clean break, financially speaking. A sum of Rs 30 lakh was ordered to be paid by the husband to the wife, marking a full and final settlement. It's a resolution, yes, but also a stark reminder of how complex human relationships can become, and sometimes, the only path to peace is through a definitive, judicial separation.