New Delhi, July 18: The Supreme Court has dissolved the marriage of a long-estranged couple saying that once a marriage was “dead for all practical purposes” it would amount to cruelty to insist on its continuance.

Satish and Ganga Sitole, parents of a 15-year-old boy, had lived apart for the past 14 years. They had filed cases against each other for cruelty and dowry harassment that failed to stand in court.

“We direct that the marriage shall stand dissolved, subject to the appellant (husband) paying to the respondent (wife) a sum of Rs 2 lakh by way of permanent alimony,” the apex court said.

Satish, who lives near Indore, married Ganga on May 22, 1992, but she left him to live with her parents on August 21, 1994. When Satish sent her a court notice to return, Ganga lodged a dowry harassment case in 1995.

The husband and his family members were acquitted on February 2, 2003. At the trial court’s insistence, Ganga agreed to return to her husband but did not.

On September 28, 1998, the husband filed for divorce in an Indore court on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The court ruled that the husband had proved his case but did not grant a divorce, passing a decree of judicial separation instead. This meant the couple could file for divorce only after a further two years of living apart.

On appeal, the high court reversed the judgment and decree, ruling that the husband’s conduct had compelled the wife to leave him. It said it was not satisfied that Ganga had treated Satish with cruelty.

Satish then appealed in the Supreme Court, arguing that whether or not cruelty was proved, the marriage had broken down irretrievably.

He said that of the 16 years of their marriage, the couple had lived apart for 14 years.