Supreme Court says it can dissolve marriage on grounds of irretrievable breakdown

The Supreme Court has said that it can grant divorce on the grounds of an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

The Bench also held that it can do away with the 6-month waiting period for divorce.

A Constitution Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwari held that the six month period prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act can be dispensed with.

"Article 142 must be considered in light of the fundamental rights. It should contravene a non-derogable function of the Constitution. Court under the power is empowered to complete justice," the Bench held.

The verdict came on a batch of petitions covering the use of the Supreme Court's plenary powers to dissolve a marriage between consenting parties without referral to a family court to wait for the mandatory period prescribed under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to pass decrees and orders which are necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.

The question on hand was whether the Supreme Court could exercise its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage. The broad parameters and whether the invocation of the said power was allowed in the absence of the mutual consent of the parties also came up for discussion.

The case had been referred to a five-judge Bench nearly five years ago on June 29 2016 by a Division Bench comprising Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and R Banumathi. Both judges are now retired.

The judgment was reserved by the Constitution Bench on September 29 2022 after hearing arguments at length.