Salil Dhawan vs Priyanshi Ghai 2026 INSC 577 - Irretrievable Breakdown

Constitution of India — Article 142 — Dissolution of marriage on ground of irretrievable breakdown despite opposition by one spouse — Where the spouses had been living separately for over eight years, there was long-standing acrimony, a multiplicity of civil and criminal proceedings, and the ties of matrimony had in every meaningful sense been severed, the Supreme Court held that compelling the parties to remain bound in a marriage that existed only on paper would serve no legitimate purpose, and that this was an appropriate case for exercise of Article 142 jurisdiction to dissolve the marriage, notwithstanding the wife’s opposition and her stated intention to pursue a contested divorce on the ground of adultery — (Paras 5–7, 12).