Introduction  

• In this case, the Supreme Court exercised its discretionary power to free the couples unnecessarily bound in dead marriage for a long time due to statutory requirements. 

Facts 

• In this case, both the plaintiff and the defendant filed for the divorce under Section 13-B of Hindu Marriage Act, 1995 (HMA). 
• The parties were living separately for more than 6 years and tried seeking divorce through legal avenues. 
• The first case filed was under the Domestic Violence Act and under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. 
• The trial court failed to analyze the marital grievances between the parties, so they moved to the High Court for redress. 
• The High Court failed to provide any definite solution and the parties appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issue Involved  

• Whether the Supreme Court has the power to deviate from the law under Article 142 of the Constitution of India (COI)? 

Observations

• The Supreme Court observed that the marriage was a dead marriage and there was no scope left for Rehabilition of marriage. 
• The supreme court also stated that in order to grant justice, the Supreme Court can use its discretionary power under Article 142 of COI with due care and diligence. 
• It was further added by the Supreme Court that grant of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is valid ground when there is no scope of reconciliation. 
• The Supreme Court also listed some factors that are to be considered before passing of the judgement as  
  • the period the parties had cohabited after marriage. 
  • when the parties had last cohabited. 
  • the nature of allegations made by the parties against each other and their family members. 
  • The orders passed in the legal proceedings sometimes have a cumulative impact on the personal relationship. 
  • whether, and how many attempts were made to settle the disputes by intervention of the court or through mediation, and when the last attempt was made, etc. 
  • The period of separation should be sufficiently long, and anything above six years or more will be a relevant factor. 
• The Supreme Court also held that the Fault theory can be neglected by the court while making decisions in such cases. 

Conclusion 

• The Supreme Court in its judgement concluded that it has the power to waive the statutory requirement to complete justice with care and diligence. 
• It is also held by the Supreme Court that a mutual divorce can be granted when parties come to a settlement and when the marriage has no scope for reconciliation.