Supreme Court on divorce: Marriages can be dissolved on grounds of irretrievable breakdown, rules SC
SC’s major decision on divorce: The Supreme Court's five-judge Constitution bench on Monday held that it can dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.
A Constitution Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari held that the six-month period prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act can be dispensed with.
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The verdict came in a batch of petitions concerning the use of the top court's plenary powers to dissolve a marriage between consenting parties without referral to family courts to wait for the mandatory period prescribed under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The bench said that it can invoke special power granted to it under Article 142 of the Constitution and the mandatory waiting period of six months for divorce through mutual consent can be dispensed with subject to conditions. This basically states that you will not have to wait for months for divorce. Without going to the family court, only the Supreme Court can give divorce.
The order of the apex court came on an issue of whether divorce can be granted on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage by invoking special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.
The Case
Notably, the case was referred to a five-judge Bench on June 29, 2016, by a division bench.
The bench had reserved its decision on September 29, 2022. The court, while reserving its order, had said that social change takes 'some time' and sometimes it is easier to bring a law. But it is difficult to persuade the society to change with it. During the hearing, the court had acknowledged the role of a family in marriage in India.
What is Irretrievable breakdown of marriage?
Irretrievable breakdown of marriage basically means that couple can no longer live together as man and wife.Both partners, and one partner, must prove to the court that the marriage broke down so badly that there is no reasonable chance of getting back together.