Nagpur, January 17: In a rare instance, a court in Nagpur allowed a couple to divorce through WhatsApp video conference. The divorce petition was mutually filed by the 37-year-old husband based in Nagpur and the 35-year-old wife who is currently studying in the United States' Michigan. Since she could not avail a leave from the educational institute, the court allowed her to record her statement via the social media application.

The divorce was officially dissolved by Nagpur Family Court Judge Swati Chauhan, who ordered the husband to pay a one-time settlement of Rs 10 lakh to the wife. The alimony amount was fixed mutually by the two sides, after a couple of rounds of meeting between their legal counsels. Triple Talaq: Husband Divorces Wife in Bengaluru Through a Message From US, Woman Seeks Help From Sushma Swaraj.

The couple, both engineers, were married on August 11, 2013 in Secunderabad, now part of Telangana. After marriage, they flew to Michigan where they worked for an automobile firm.

Differences cropped up between them over the past two years, after the wife returned to Nagpur and lived with her in-laws. The row escalated after the husband returned back from the US, and she left again for Michigan on a student visa.

The two sides were earlier contemplating on figuring the terms and conditions of the divorce in the courtroom. However, they later agreed on an out-of-court settlement.

A meeting was held last year at the office advocate Smita Sarode Singhalkar, the wife’s lawyer in Khare Town of Nagpur. While no breakthrough was reached in the first-meeting, the two sides inched towards a settlement in the subsequent round of discussions. Singhalkar, in presence of the husband, his counsel Sameer Sonawane and the wife -- who participated in the meeting via a WhatsApp call -- mutually decided to finalise the alimony amount.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 17, 2019 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).