Supreme Court dissolves 22-year-old marriage on ground of irretrievable breakdown
Justices Vikram Nath & Satish C Sharma [10-07-2024]

Read Order: VIKAS KANAUJIA v. SARITA[SC- CIVIL APPEAL NO. 7380 OF 2025]

LE Correspondent

New Delhi, July 18, 2024: The Supreme Court has invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a 22-year-old marriage between two medical practitioners on the ground of irretrievable breakdown. The apex court set aside the Allahabad High Court's order which had earlier dismissed the husband's plea for divorce.

The couple, both medical doctors, had tied the knot in 2002 but lived together for barely 23 days before the wife left for her paternal home. Despite the husband's attempts, she refused to return. Over the years, the estranged couple fought multiple legal battles, including criminal cases, against each other. In 2006, the Family Court granted divorce to the husband on grounds of cruelty. However, the wife challenged this in the High Court which allowed her appeal in 2019. Aggrieved, the husband approached the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court observed that the marriage had ceased to exist both in substance and reality, and the matrimonial bond was broken beyond repair. The court noted that the parties had lived together for a total of only 43 days in their 22 years of marriage. Mediation and conciliation proceedings had also failed. Relying on recent Constitution Bench judgments, the court held that it has the discretion under Article 142 to dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown to do complete justice between the parties.

Finding this to be a fit case, the Supreme Court granted divorce, stating that continuation of the legal relationship was unjustified when there was no possibility of the parties living together. As both are professionally qualified doctors with sufficient earnings, no permanent alimony was awarded.