The Supreme Court on Wednesday quietly rewrote the ending of a long-running matrimonial dispute from Odisha, choosing closure over blame. Sitting in Court the bench noted that the marriage had run its course long ago, and there was little sense in stretching the conflict further. By the end of the hearing, what began as a divorce on the charge of desertion was reshaped into a mutual separation, with a clear financial settlement to seal the chapter.
Background
The case involved Bhagyashree Bisi and Animesh Padhee, married in December 2014 at Sambalpur. At the time, the wife was working with Infosys and based in the United States. She returned to India in 2017 and the couple lived together in Bengaluru.
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Things, however, did not stay smooth. Differences crept in, and by January 2020, the wife left the matrimonial home. The husband later claimed she had left during the night and never returned, effectively deserting him. In 2021, the wife was again deputed abroad for work.
In May 2022, the husband approached the Family Court at Sambalpur under the Hindu Marriage Act, seeking divorce on the ground of desertion. The wife contested this, saying she had left due to a hostile environment and money demands, even pointing out that she had transferred Rs 3 lakh to the husband.
The Family Court granted divorce in August 2023. The Orissa High Court upheld that decision in 2024, pushing the wife to move the Supreme Court.
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Court’s Observations
When the matter came up before the Supreme Court, the tone was noticeably different. Senior counsel for the wife informed the bench that she was willing to dissolve the marriage, but objected to being labelled as someone who had “deserted” her husband. Her side stressed that professional obligations had taken her abroad and communication channels were never closed.
Interestingly, the husband’s counsel did not resist this shift. He told the court that the husband, too, was agreeable to a mutual consent divorce and had no objection if the court used its special powers to do “complete justice.”
The bench observed that the parties had been living separately for a considerable time and that all attempts at reconciliation had failed. “The marriage has irretrievably broken down,” the court noted, adding that there was no real chance of restoring the relationship.
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Decision
Setting aside the earlier divorce decree based on desertion, the Supreme Court dissolved the marriage by mutual consent using its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.
To bring finality, the court fixed a one-time lump sum of Rs 25 lakh as full and final settlement, including permanent alimony, payable within two months. The amount is to be deposited with the court registry and released to the wife. Once payment is made, all pending civil or criminal cases between the parties will automatically stand closed.
With that, the appeal was disposed of, and the long dispute finally brought to an end by the court’s order itself.
Case Title: Bhagyashree Bisi v. Animesh Padhee
Case No.: Civil Appeal of 2025 (arising out of SLP (Civil) No. 25584 of 2024)
Case Type: Civil Appeal – Matrimonial Dispute (Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act)
Decision Date: December 18, 2025
