Irretrievable breakdown of marriage: An uncodified provision for granting divorce

The historical development regarding the irretrievable breakdown of marriage can be traced from the year 1982 wherein the Supreme Court restricted itself to the statute while rejecting an application seeking divorce based on the ground that the marriage has been broken irretrievably. While rejecting the application, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court categorically held that no such ground has been engrafted under the then Indian Divorce Act, 1869 and in the absence of any such grounds, the court cannot step into the shoes of the legislature by adding a provision to the statute which was never enacted by the legislature.