Supreme Court Pulls Up Husband for Defying Mediation Order in Matrimonial Dispute.


10 November 2025 Mediation & Alternative Dispute Resolution >> Miscellaneous  

The Supreme Court has issued a show-cause notice to a petitioner who refused to participate in court-directed mediation proceedings in a matrimonial dispute arising from Bihar, observing that his conduct amounted to prima facie contempt of the High Court's order.

The matter, which was registered as Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No. 17171 of 2025, was heard by a Bench comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra on November 10, 2025. The petitioner, Amit Kumar Hari alias Amit Kumar Abhimanyu, had moved the Supreme Court against a Patna High Court order dated September 24, 2025, which stated that the condition precedent to interim protection would be his appearance before the mediator.

 

 

During the hearing, counsel for the respondent-wife produced a copy of the mediation report dated October 30, 2025, drawn by the Principal Judge-cum-Trained Mediator, Bhagalpur. According to the report, although the petitioner was contacted through multiple channels, he refused to participate and expressed his inability, stating that he had already approached the Supreme Court against the High Court's direction and could not participate in the mediation. His counsel only appeared and reiterated the petitioner's stand that he would not participate in the mediation. For this reason, the mediation was closed as a "Non-Starter."

Noting the above stand, the Supreme Court noted that such disobedience to the High Court's order, in the absence of a stay order, in effect amounted to showing disrespect to the judiciary. The Bench said the petitioner's stand before the mediator "is clearly contemptuous" and required an explanation.

To this, the Court ordered the petitioner to file a show-cause as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for wilful disobedience of the order. The Bench further ordered the counsel appearing for the petitioner to convey the above order to his client and ordered his personal appearance before the Court on November 25, 2025, when the matter is to be taken up again.

The case underscores the judiciary's insistence that mediation, though voluntary in outcome, is not optional when directed by the Court as part of pre-trial proceedings. Judicial orders, the Supreme Court reaffirmed, must be respected until formally stayed or set aside.