Report No. 217

Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage another Ground for Divorce

I. Introduction

1.1 Whenever the question of inclusion of irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a ground for divorce is mooted, the opponents argue that "divorce by mutual consent" introduced in the Hindu Marriage Act in 1976 more than covers the situation. It is important to note that "mutual consent" requires the consent of both the parties and if one or the other does not cooperate, the said ground is not available.

'Irretrievable breakdown of marriage', on the other hand, is a ground which the Court can examine and if the Court, on the facts of the case, comes to the conclusion that the marriage cannot be repaired/saved, divorce can be granted. The grant of divorce is not dependent on the volition of the parties but on the Court coming to the conclusion, on the facts pleaded, that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.