Children always pay the heaviest price in a divorce: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that resolving matrimonial disputes cannot brook any delay as it causes great loss to the individual and takes its heavy toll on the child that will be deprived of love and affection of parents.

The top court also emphasised on making all efforts to resolve such disputes through mediation.

In a custody battle, no matter which parent wins, the child is always the loser. It is the children who pay the heaviest price as they are shattered when the court by its judicial process tells them to go with the parent whom he or she deems fit, it said.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi said that if the mediation fails, the judicial process must be invoked to arrive at the resolution of personal disputes as quickly as possible.

The top court was dealing with a Delhi couple's matrimonial dispute related to divorce proceedings and visitation rights of children. In the case, the top court had to initiate contempt proceedings against the parties due to intransigence and send the children to a boarding school in Nainital. On September 7, 2017, the court passed a detailed order as to how the two children have to spend their Dussehra, Diwali and winter vacations with each parent.

In its judgement on Tuesday, the court directed to extend the interim arrangement on visitation rights and allowed both the husband and wife to pursue their remedies for custody and guardianship of children. It also directed for deciding before December 2020 the divorce proceedings initiated by the husband.

"Delay in decision certainly causes a great loss to the individual and deprives him/her of their rights which are protected under the Constitution and with every passing day, the children pay heavy price of being deprived of the love and affection of their parents for which they were never at fault but are always the loser which at no stage could be compensated monetarily or otherwise," the court said.

The court stressed that even if there is a breakdown of the marriage, it does not signify the end of parental responsibility.