New Delhi, Dec 16 The Supreme Court has dissolved a 25-year-old marriage, holding that it had "ceased to exist in reality" and that there was no possibility of reconciliation.
Allowing a petition filed by the husband, a bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Joymalya Bagchi invoked its extraordinary powers to do "complete justice between the parties" and granted divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown.
The Justice Manmohan-headed Bench set aside a 2011 Gauhati High Court judgment that had overturned a divorce decree granted by a trial court in Shillong.
"The parties have lived separately for far too long a period of time, and there is no sanctity left in the marriage. Also, rapprochement is not in the realm of possibility," the apex court observed, noting that the couple had been living apart since November 2001 and had no children from the wedlock.
The marriage between the parties was solemnised in August 2000. However, matrimonial litigation began as early as 2003 and has continued for over 22 years, the judgment observed, adding that despite mediation efforts ordered by the Supreme Court in 2012, no settlement was reached.
The bench said that prolonged separation without any hope of reunion itself amounts to cruelty.
Referring to a series of earlier decisions, the apex court said that where parties have been living separately for decades, the marriage becomes "only on paper".
"An unworkable marriage, which has ceased to be effective, is futile and bound to be a source of great misery to the parties," the judgment said, adding that refusal to sever such a legal tie "does not serve the sanctity of marriage, but may lead to mental cruelty".
Rejecting the Gauhati High Court’s view that the wife had not deserted the husband, the Supreme Court stressed that the case was not about fixing fault or blame but about recognising the reality of a dead marriage.
"No spouse can be compelled to resume life with a consort, and as such, nothing is gained by keeping the parties tied forever to a marriage which has, in fact, ceased to exist," the Justice Manmohan-led Bench reiterated.
The Supreme Court upheld the 2010 decree of divorce passed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial), Shillong, and set aside the Gauhati High Court’s judgment, formally dissolving the marriage.
"Accordingly, the order of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial) Shillong, insofar as it grants a decree of divorce to the parties, is upheld, and the impugned order of the High Court is set aside. With the aforesaid observations, the appeal stands allowed,” the apex court said.
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