In its judgement, the Supreme Court has held that under Section 13 (1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act for the dissolution of marriage, the irretrievable breakdown of marriage can be read as the ground of “cruelty”.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and JB Pardiwala made this statement while the court was dealing with a case of a couple who had been living separately for 25 years. The couple lived together for merely 4 years, after which they fell apart. They both filed numerous cases against each other. The Family Court, in 2009, allowed the husband’s petition for dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty but the Delhi High Court, in 2011, reversed the decree of divorce.
While hearing the husband’s appeal, the Supreme Court noted that the parties’ relationship had become acrimonious over the years. The Court also stated that no child is born out of wedlock.
The bench also noted that irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not yet a ground for dissolution of marriage, despite the Supreme Court’s recommendation to that effect in Naveen Kohli v. Neelu Kohli (2006) 4 SCC 558. In its 71st and 217th reports, the Law Commission of India recommended that a de facto broken marriage be de jure recognized as such by the law.
Dealing with the present appeal, the bench said, “Irretrievable breakdown of a marriage may not be a ground for dissolution of marriage, under the Hindu Marriage Act, but cruelty is”. It opined that “continuation of this marriage would mean continuation of cruelty, which each now inflicts on the other.”
The Supreme Court did not disagree with the High Court’s view stating that mere filing of cases against the spouse will not amount to cruelty, however it stated that given the facts of the case, it has to be seen that the marriage must end as it will result in cruelty to each other.
