A Dead Marriage Cannot Be Forced to Continue by Court Orders: Supreme Court Grants Divorce Under Article 142

Held: The Supreme Court held that where a marriage has become dead for all practical purposes and the parties have lived separately for a very long period with no realistic possibility of reunion, the Court may exercise its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to grant a decree of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The Court clarified that a husband-wife relationship cannot be forced to continue through judicial orders when both sides have taken rigid and irreconcilable positions and the marital bond has completely collapsed in reality.

Summary: The appellant-husband challenged the orders by which the Family Court’s dismissal of his divorce petition had been upheld by the High Court. He submitted that the parties had been living separately since 2003, that repeated efforts at reconciliation had failed, and that the conduct of the respondent-wife had caused serious harassment, including allegations made while the parties were living abroad, leading to loss of employment and relocation. The respondent-wife opposed divorce, mainly citing societal pressure, but the Court found that she could not offer any satisfactory explanation showing a real possibility of restoring the relationship. The Court observed that when the parties’ positions are completely inflexible and the marriage has no practical life left, the Court must take a realistic and objective view rather than mechanically preserve a legal relationship that has already broken down in substance.

Decision: The Supreme Court allowed the appeals and, exercising power under Article 142 of the Constitution, granted a decree of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The divorce was made subject to the appellant paying INR 60,00,000 to the respondent-wife within two months and filing proof of payment before the Court. The Court also directed that the amount of INR 68,00,000 lying in the Registry, along with accrued interest, be released to the respondent-wife within two weeks after completion of formalities. The Court recorded that the daughter’s rights against the appellant, including rights in his estate or ancestral properties, would not be affected, and that the appellant would contribute at the time of her marriage. The pending FCA No. 93 of 2019 filed by the appellant at Hyderabad was quashed, and all pending applications were disposed of.