Supreme Court Upholds Divorce on Grounds of Cruelty, Desertion and Irretrievable Breakdown, Awarding Alimony to Wife.

The Supreme Court has confirmed the Madras High Court judgment granting the husband, A.R. Subramanian, a divorce decree on the grounds of Cruelty and Desertion by wife, Amrutha, stressing that the marriage has indeed gone into an Irretrievable Breakdown and to grant Alimony. It is held that the marriage has broken down beyond recovery and forcing parties to remain in a dead marriage achieves nothing. It is further granted permanent alimony along with financial support to the daughter.

The couple, both software engineers, married in 2002. After a short period of cohabitation, the wife went to her parental home for delivery and according to the husband, refused to return despite his requests. This led to legal proceedings, including a petition for restitution of conjugal rights by the husband. The wife eventually left the matrimonial home again after reconciling with the husband briefly. The husband then filed for divorce in 2010, citing cruelty.

The Trial Court and First Appellate Court dismissed the divorce petition of the husband. However, High Court reversed their judgment that is based on sufficient proof of cruelty and desertion. The High Court relied upon false dowry harassment complaint filed by wife, and also the absence of wife without any reasonable cause for such long duration of separation as cruelty.

The wife challenged the High Court's judgment and appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds and emphasizing her willingness to reconcile. However, the Supreme Court agreed with the High Court's assessment, ultimately, observing that the marriage had irretrievably broken down.

Mental Cruelty: The Court again and again reiterated that mental cruelty is a subjective experience resulting from prolonged anguish and emotional distress, which would make it unreasonable for spouses to cohabit. False dowry harassment complaint made by wife was held to fall within the definition of mental cruelty as it had caused grievous damage to the husband's reputation and mental peace.

Prolonged Separation: It was noted that the couple had been separated for nearly two decades, and so there was a presumption of an irretrievable breakdown. The couple had never cohabited and attempts at reconciliation were futile. This indicated that the marriage existed only in form, but not in substance.

Irretrievable breakdown as ground for divorce: Even though such is not a statutory basis for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Court invoked its power under Article 142 of the Constitution for the dissolution of marriages that have irretrievably broken down, considering that coercing the parties to further remain married would only stretch their agony.

Financial Independence and Alimony Despite the wife's financial independence, the Court felt that there was a necessity to give alimony in order for her to enjoy financial security and dignity post-divorce.

The Supreme Court relied on its several preceding judgments to reach its decision in the present case:

Naveen Kohli vs Neelu Kohli (Click to Download) (2006): This case established the Supreme Court’s power to dissolve marriages based on irretrievable breakdown.

Samar Ghosh vs Jaya Ghosh (Click to Download) (2007): This case provided illustrative examples of mental cruelty and emphasized that actions causing sustained emotional torment constitute cruelty.

Narayan Ganesh Dastane Vs Sucheta Narayan Dastane (Click to Download) (1975): This case highlighted that cruelty encompasses actions that inflict mental pain and create a reasonable apprehension of harm.

V. Bhagat vs D. Bhagat (Click to Download) (1994): This case emphasized that sustained cruelty makes it unreasonable to expect cohabitation.

K. Srinivas Rao vs D.A. Deepa (Click to Download) (2013): This case highlighted that prolonged separation creates a presumption of marriage breakdown.

Ashok Hurra vs Rupa Bipin Zaveri (Click to Download) (1997): This case emphasized that prolonging a dead marriage serves no purpose and only perpetuates suffering.

Shilpa Sailesh vs Varun Sreenivasan (Click to Download) (2022): This case reiterated the Court’s power to dissolve marriages on grounds of irretrievable breakdown.

Kiran Jyot Maini vs Anish Pramod Patel (Click to Download) (2024): This case emphasized that maintenance and alimony provide a right to sustenance and aim to ensure a standard of living comparable to the marriage.

Referring the case of Rajnesh vs. Neha(Click to Download) the Apex Court listed factors to consider when awarding alimony, including the duration of the marriage, earning capacities, age, health, standard of living, and contributions to the marriage. The Court ultimately dismissed the appeal, upheld the divorce, and awarded the wife a lump sum of Rs. 50 lakhs as permanent alimony and an additional Rs. 50 lakhs for their daughter's education and future expenses.

Coram: Justice Vikram Nath And Justice Prasanna B. Varale.
Between:Amutha Vs A.R. Subramanian.
Date of Judgment: 20-12-2024