Irretrievable breakdown of marriage is akin to cruelty, a ground for divorce, says SC

The bench pointed said that though “cruelty” has not been defined under the Act, human conduct in a matrimony is the indice used to invoke it for dissolution.

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage can be construed as “cruelty” and be legally recognised as a valid ground of divorce under the Hindu Mariage Act (HMA), the Supreme Court held in a judgment that seeks to give legitimacy to a separation following an unsalvageable relationship.

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground available under the law for couples seeking separation but the Supreme Court, through a raft of orders, has been granting decrees of divorce exercising its unique jurisdiction, under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. (Representational image)

“A marriage which has broken down irretrievably, in our opinion, spells cruelty to both the parties, as in such a relationship each party is treating the other with cruelty. It is, therefore, a ground for dissolution of marriage under Section 13 (1) (ia) of the Act,” said a bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and JB Pardiwala in a judgment on Wednesday.

The bench took judicial note of the fact that irretrievable breakdown of a marriage is not a ground for dissolution of marriage under HMA but cruelty is enumerated as one of the grounds under Section 13 of the Act.

“A marriage can be dissolved by a decree of divorce, inter alia, on the ground when the other party has, after the solemnization of the marriage treated the petitioner with cruelty. In our considered opinion, a marital relationship which only becomes more bitter and acrimonious over the years, does nothing but inflict cruelty on both sides. To keep the façade of this broken marriage alive would be doing injustice to both the parties,” underlined the court.

Read: Uniform laws on marriage, divorce matter for Parliament to decide: Supreme Court

The bench further pointed out that though the term “cruelty” has not been defined under the Act, human conduct and behaviour in a matrimonial relationship are the indices used to invoke it as a ground for dissolution of marriage.

“It is not possible in every case to pinpoint to an act of ‘cruelty’ or blameworthy conduct of the spouse. The nature of relationship, the general behaviour of the parties towards each other, or long separation between the two are relevant factors which a court must take into consideration,” it added.

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground available under the law for couples seeking separation but the Supreme Court, through a raft of orders, has been granting decrees of divorce exercising its unique jurisdiction, under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, to do complete justice to the parties.

In 2016, a smaller bench called upon the Constitution bench to examine whether the Supreme Court should exercise its powers under Article 142 to grant divorce without sending the parties to a family court where they must wait for a period between six to 18 months to obtain divorce by mutual consent. Last September, the Constitution bench led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul reserved its judgment in the matter. The verdict is still awaited. Some of the other grounds of divorce under Section 13 include adultery, desertion, conversion and insanity.

In the present case, the two-judge bench noted that before it was a couple that stayed together barely for four years and which has now been living separately for the last 25 years, fighting numerous court battles against each other.

“The matrimonial bond is completely broken and is beyond repair. We have no doubt that this relationship must end as its continuation is causing cruelty on both sides. The long separation and absence of cohabitation and the complete breakdown of all meaningful bonds and the existing bitterness between the two, has to be read as cruelty under Section 13(1) (ia) of the 1955 Act,” said the court.

“We therefore hold that in a given case, such as the one at hand, where the marital relationship has broken down irretrievably, where there is a long separation and absence of cohabitation (as in the present case for the last 25 years), with multiple Court cases between the parties; then continuation of such a ‘marriage’ would only mean giving sanction to cruelty which each is inflicting on the other,” noted the bench, granting divorce to the couple. It also directed the man to pay permanent alimony of ₹30 lakh in full and final settlement to the estranged wife.