Maintaining a marital union in the face of an irretrievable breakdown is an act of cruelty towards both spouses : Supreme Court Dissolves Marriage
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court found that continuing to keep a couple together in a marriage that has irretrievably broken down is cruel to both parties. The bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve the marriage, stating that prolonged bitterness, emotional deadness, and extended separation indicate an irretrievable breakdown.
The court emphasized that when a marriage has reached such a state, dissolution is the only viable solution. The case involved a husband who initially filed a petition for "Restitution of Conjugal Rights" under the Hindu Marriage Act in 2012, which was later dismissed. Subsequent appeals were also unsuccessful.
In the husband's appeal to the Supreme Court, the bench ruled that this was a classic case of an irretrievable breakdown of marriage, citing a recent decision in Rakesh Raman v. Kavita and the precedent set in Shilpa Shailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan. The court expressed regret that despite a desire for reconciliation, the rigid stance of both parties and twelve years of separation had extinguished any remaining marital affection.
The court, therefore, dissolved the marriage and ordered the husband to deposit Rs. 20,00,000 for his daughter's education expenses.