Supreme Court Rules Separation Alone Cannot Prove Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage
Supreme Court rules separation alone cannot justify irretrievable breakdown of marriage.
The Supreme Court on November 14 delivered a landmark ruling, declaring that mere physical separation between spouses does not automatically signal an irretrievable breakdown of marriage. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi set aside a Uttarakhand High Court order that had granted divorce to a husband solely on grounds of alleged mental cruelty, directing the High Court to re-examine the case with greater scrutiny.
Emphasising judicial caution, the apex court held that courts must first ascertain which spouse was responsible for fracturing the marital bond before concluding the marriage had collapsed irretrievably. “Before jumping to such a conclusion, it is imperative… to determine who out of the two is responsible for breaking the marital tie and forcing the other to live separately,” the bench observed, cautioning against hasty dissolution orders that could devastate families, particularly children.
In the present case, the couple married in 2009 and have a son. The wife approached the Supreme Court after the High Court accepted the husband’s claim of mental cruelty and granted divorce. The apex court noted that the wife had been expelled from the matrimonial home and had retained custody of the child since birth, facts that demanded deeper analysis of responsibility and intent rather than a mechanical acceptance of prolonged separation as proof of breakdown.
The judgment criticised a growing trend among lower courts and High Courts to treat separation itself as sufficient evidence of irretrievable breakdown. Such an approach, the bench warned, places an “onerous duty” on courts to thoroughly evaluate evidence, social circumstances, background of the parties, and the presence or absence of wilful desertion or refusal to cohabit before pronouncing the marriage dissolved.
By overturning the High Court verdict and mandating fresh consideration, the Supreme Court has reinforced that divorce on grounds of irretrievable breakdown remains an extraordinary remedy requiring rigorous proof, not a convenient shortcut triggered merely by spouses living apart. The ruling is expected to guide family courts nationwide toward more nuanced adjudication in matrimonial disputes.
