Septuagenarian couple ends 44-year marriage with Rs 3 crore settlement | India News – Times of India

CHANDIGARH: A couple from Haryana’s Karnal district has brought their 44-year-long marriage to a close and resolved an 18-year legal battle in the twilight of life – with the husband, just shy of 70, agreeing to pay Rs 3.07 crore in permanent alimony to his 73-year-old estranged wife.
The man sold prime agricultural land to pay the price of finality and to honour the settlement, parting with assets he had worked to build over decades.
The bittersweet chapter in their lives, which serves as a reminder of the fragility of human relationships, ended through a mediated settlement at Punjab and Haryana high court.
The couple married on Aug 27, 1980. Together, they raised three children – two daughters and a son. But as the years passed, differences began to surface, eroding the foundation of their relationship. By May 8, 2006, their lives had diverged and they began living apart.
The husband filed for divorce, citing mental cruelty, but the Karnal family court rejected his petition in 2013. Unwilling to give up, he approached the high court, where his plea languished for 11 years before the court referred the case to its mediation and conciliation centre in Nov this year, offering a final opportunity for compromise.
It was during this mediation process that a resolution was reached. The estranged couple, along with their grown-up children, agreed to dissolve the marriage. The husband committed to a remarkable alimony of Rs 3.07 crore.
This sum was to be paid in a mix of demand drafts, cash, and gold and silver ornaments, reflecting the wealth accumulated over a lifetime. The land generated Rs 2.16 crore, while an additional Rs 50 lakh was paid in cash, earnings from his crops, including sugarcane. Gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 40 lakh were handed over to his former wife.
The settlement marked a turning point. The agreement, signed on Nov 22, stipulated that the payment would serve as permanent alimony, closing all claims the wife or children might have had on the husband’s properties.
“Even after the death of the first party, the second and third party (wife and children) will not lay any claim over the estate,” the agreement states, ensuring a clean slate for all involved.
In its detailed order, the division bench of Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi formally dissolved the marriage, acknowledging the poignancy of the settlement.