In a landmark decision, the Allahabad High Court has determined that a Hindu marriage should not be viewed as a mere contractual agreement subject to dissolution.

The court emphasized that while a sacramental Hindu marriage can be legally terminated, this can only occur under specific circumstances and must be supported by substantial evidence presented by the parties involved.

Granting the appeal filed by a wife against the dissolution of her marriage, the division bench consist of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh opined that even in cases where divorce is granted based on mutual consent, the lower court should ensure that the consent remains valid up to the date the order is issued.

"Once the appellant claimed to have withdrawn her consent and that fact was on the record, it never became open to the learned court below to force the appellant to abide by the original consent given by her that too almost three years later," the court said.

"To do that would be a travesty of justice," the bench added.

The appeal was filed by the woman challenging a 2011 judgment by the Additional District Judge of Bulandshahar, which had granted a divorce petition filed by her husband.

The couple married on February 2, 2006, when the man was employed with the Indian Army. According to the husband's petition, the woman left him in 2007, leading him to file for divorce in 2008.

In her response, the wife stated she was living with her father. During mediation, both parties expressed a desire to live separately. However, during the course of the lawsuit, the woman changed her stance and contested the allegations made against her. A second mediation attempt also failed as her husband refused to reconcile.

Subsequently, during mediation with Army authorities, the couple agreed to reunite, and they had two children in the interim.

Mahesh Sharma, representing the woman, argued before the court that all relevant documents and updates were presented during the divorce proceedings. Despite this, the court’s decision to grant the divorce was based solely on the initial written statement from the wife, which led to the challenge before the High Court.