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Pradeep Bhardwaj v. Priya

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 852Decided 15 Jul 2025
Civil Appeal No. 9502 of 2025 (@ SLP (Civil) No. 18430 of 2019)
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Sandeep Mehta

Background

The husband and wife married in 2008, had a son in 2009, and separated only about a year into the marriage. They had been living apart for roughly 16 years by the time of this appeal. The husband's divorce petition on the ground of cruelty was dismissed by the Family Court and the Delhi High Court, both finding his allegations against the wife unproven. He appealed to the Supreme Court, relying instead on the "irretrievable breakdown of marriage," pointing out that he and his family had since been acquitted in a related criminal case the wife had filed against them.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that mediation between the parties had failed and that the marriage had been completely defunct for around 16 years, with no realistic prospect of reconciliation. While it did not find grounds to fault the concurrent findings on cruelty, the Court used its special constitutional power under Article 142 to grant a divorce directly on the basis that the marriage had irretrievably broken down: a power that lets it do "complete justice" beyond what ordinary divorce law provides. It also raised the husband's monthly maintenance payment to the wife and child to Rs. 15,000.

Lesson Learnt

Even when a spouse cannot prove specific fault like cruelty, the Supreme Court can still grant a divorce using its special Article 142 power where a marriage has been dead in all but name for many years, but this relief comes paired with a duty to adequately maintain the other spouse and children.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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