Apparently acknowledging the perils that the social media brings along with it in this digital age, the Supreme Court, in a rare instance, has barred a divorced couple from sharing or posting each other’s photograph on any online platform.
Annulling the marriage that lasted between the Maharashtra-based couple for just over two months, the apex Bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, ended all pending criminal cases and expunged every allegation made by the young couple against each other in their divorce petitions, the accompanying evidences and the Bombay High Court order passed on November 10, 2017. The couple got married on September 8, 2013 under Hindu rites and got separated on November 29 the same year.
The Court was considerate of the fact that the couple was in their early 30s, who were professionally and educationally quite competent to begin a second innings in life. The lawyer, for one of the parties, Dushyant Parashar insisted that the Court must also ensure that the intimate and other photographs possessed by either of the parties is not misused or used to remind the other of the scars of their past.
The request went down well with the Bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud. It ordered, "Neither the husband nor the wife shall put the photographs of each other in any mode at any place which would also include social media or online." This was unprecedented as never before has such a restriction been placed on the parties after divorce.
The Court quashed the two criminal cross-cases lodged by either party against each other and even ended all proceedings arising out of the dowry harassment complaint lodged by the wife against the husband and his family members.
Realizing that the parties had alleged serious charges against each other that could possibly be used to ruin their future professional and family prospects, the bench further ordered that "no one shall be entitled to get the certified copy of the pleadings," meaning thereby that the order of the Bombay High Court, records of the case in the High Court and records produced before the Supreme Court, nothing will be accessible to any person in future.
In the past, before the matter travelled to Supreme Court in December last year, several attempts to mediate the dispute between the parties had failed, following which the apex court directed the couple to be personally present. As the husband had approached the apex court, the CJI-headed bench had directed him to transfer Rs 40000 into the wife's account to enable her personal presence in Court. It was in their presence and with their concession, the order granting divorce on the above terms and conditions was passed by the apex court.