The Supreme Court has set aside a judgment of the Chhattisgarh High Court which had granted a decree of divorce primarily on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage and the acquittal of the husband in a Section 498A IPC case. The Apex Court remanded the matter back to the High Court for fresh consideration on merits, observing that the power to grant divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown rests solely with the Supreme Court under Article 142 of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal filed by the wife, challenging the High Court’s decision to reverse the Family Court’s dismissal of the divorce petition. The Apex Court held that the High Court granted relief without discussing the specific grounds of cruelty and desertion on their merits, instead relying on the concept of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, a power not vested in the High Court.
Background of the Case
The parties to the dispute were married on April 29, 2009, according to Hindu rites and rituals in Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh, and have two daughters. A few years into the marriage, relations soured, leading the appellant-wife to lodge an FIR on April 10, 2017, against the respondent-husband and his family members under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The proceedings arising from this FIR eventually resulted in the acquittal of the respondent.
The husband subsequently filed a petition for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The Family Court, in its order dated August 17, 2023, disallowed the petition. The trial court held that cruelty on the part of the appellant-wife was not established. On the contrary, the Family Court found evidence that the respondent-husband had pushed the appellant to attempt suicide. It was also observed that the wife had “justifiable reasons for wanting to reside at her maternal home at the relevant point in time” and that the husband had falsely accused her of desertion.
The High Court’s Decision
Aggrieved by the Family Court’s order, the husband appealed to the Chhattisgarh High Court. By a judgment dated January 28, 2025, the High Court allowed the appeal and granted the divorce.
The High Court took the view that the appellant had been living separately since 2017. It held that cruelty on the part of the wife stood proved because:
- She lodged an FIR against the husband and his family members, which resulted in acquittal.
- The parties had been living separately for a long period.
The High Court concluded that “the appellant wife not only deserted her husband since long but she also committed mental cruelty upon her husband.” To support its conclusion, the High Court relied on the Supreme Court judgment in Rani Narasimha Sastry v. Rani Suneela Rani (2020) regarding the impact of acquittal in Section 498A proceedings, and its own judgment in Satpal Singh v. Preeti Pahuja (2024) regarding irretrievable breakdown of marriage due to long separation.
Supreme Court’s Analysis
The Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, deprecated the approach taken by the High Court.
The Apex Court observed that the High Court failed to discuss the grounds proffered by the husband for seeking divorce or the merits of the Family Court’s rejection of those grounds. The Court noted:
“In other words, no discussion whatsoever has been made on the grounds that have been proffered by the husband for seeking divorce at the first instance and challenging its rejection. This approach has to be deprecated for relief as prayed for has been granted without appreciating in the facts and circumstances of the case whether the requirements in law are met or not.”
The Bench remarked that the High Court had taken “a root foreign to well established principles of law” to reach the end result without a discussion on the merits.
Furthermore, regarding the High Court’s reliance on the breakdown of marriage, the Supreme Court clarified the legal position citing the Constitution Bench judgment in Shilpa Shailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023). The Court stated:
“…the power to grant divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown rests only with this Court as it is germane from Article 142 of the Constitution of India.”
Decision
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the impugned judgment of the Chhattisgarh High Court in FA (MAT) No. 257 of 2023. The matter has been restored to the file of the High Court for consideration afresh, with a direction to take into account the merits of the matter.
The parties have been directed to appear before the High Court on December 11, 2025.
