Can grant divorce on ground of 'irretrievable breakdown' of marriages: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India on Monday held that it can exercise its special powers under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution to grant divorce, or dissolve marriage, to consenting parties on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.Citing the Article 142, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari, ruled that the six month period prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act can be dispensed with.The Article 142 of the Constitution of India deals with the enforcement of decrees and orders of the Supreme Court to do "complete justice" in any matter pending before it."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 said."We have held that it is possible for this court to dissolve marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. That will not contravene the specific or fundamental principles of public policy", the apex court added.The Court held that it has specified the factors on the basis of which a marriage can be held to be irretrievably broken down and how to balance out equities, specifically with regard to maintenance, alimony and the rights of the children.The Supreme Court delivered the verdict on a batch of petitions relating to the exercise of its vast powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve broken-down marriages between consenting couples without referring them to family courts for protracted judicial proceedings to get the decree of separation.The issues involved were whether the apex court could use its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage, the broad aspects of such powers and whether the invocation of the said power was allowed in the absence of the mutual consent of the parties.The case was referred to a five-judge Bench about five years ago on 29 June, 2016, by a Division Bench of Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and R Banumathi (both retired) in a transfer petition.After hearing arguments, the Constitution Bench on 29 September last year had reserved its judgment.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.