Irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act. In Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan, a Constitution Bench held that the Supreme Court may nevertheless dissolve a marriage that has irretrievably broken down, in exercise of its power to do complete justice under Article 142 of the Constitution.
What the Court held
- The Supreme Court can grant divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, even where one party opposes it, after considering factors such as the length of separation, the efforts at reconciliation and the effect on any children.
- The Court can also waive the six-month period for a mutual consent divorce under Section 13B in appropriate cases.
- This power is to be exercised with care and is not available to Family Courts or High Courts.
The judgment gives an additional route for ending marriages that exist only on paper, but it applies to cases that reach the Supreme Court, and ordinary petitions must still be founded on the statutory grounds.