Indian top court's landmark divorce judgement spotlights marriage's 'irretrievable breakdown'

The Indian Supreme Court in New Delhi held that it could grant divorce on the grounds of "irretrievable breakdown" of marriage by invoking its special powers under Article 32 of Indian constitution.

Article 32 of Indian constitution deals with "remedies for enforcement of rights."

A constitution bench of Supreme Court, which is meant to assess case[s] involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution, gave the landmark judgement on Monday. The Constitution Bench comprised of Justices SK Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, AS Oka, Vikram Nath, and JK Maheshwari.

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The bench concluded that such an exercise of power "will not contravene the principles of public policy."

The Indian top court also held that it reserves the right to waive the six-month waiting period, the period after which a couple seeking divorce by mutual consent can currently approach the court to proceed towards legal cessation of marriage.

The landmark legal development comes after a two-judge Supreme Court bench in New Delhi held that irretrievable breakdown of a marriage can be read as amounting to cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. This, the court had held, can be a ground for divorce.

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The court held that "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) (a) of the Act."

It said that though "irretrievable breakdown of a marriage may not be a ground for dissolution of marriage, under the Hindu Marriage Act, but cruelty is".

"A marriage can be dissolved by a decree of divorce, inter alia, on the ground when the other party has, after the solemnisation of the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty. In our considered opinion, a marital relationship, which has only become more bitter and acrimonious over the years, does nothing but inflicts cruelty on both the sides. To keep the façade of this broken marriage alive would be doing injustice to both the parties," the Supreme Court said in its April 27 ruling.

India is considered to have the lowest divorce rate globally, estimated to be around 1.1 per cent.

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