Invocation of supreme court's Inherent jurisdiction in broken marriages

Abstract

"Till death do us apart" the myth of perpetual bond of cohabitation in a Sacrosanct marriage has been faded with time. The social taboo attached to divorce has been diluted and has been accepted as a remedy rather than a curse. There has been a journey in divorce cases from guilt theory to consent and further to breakdown of marriage. Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage though received the attention of Law Commission of India[1], Judiciary [2] and attempts have been made by the legislature[3] but could not be substantiated in the Family Jurisprudence of India. This paper attempts to focus upon the judgments of the Supreme Court where the inherent jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution has been invoked for doing complete justice in matrimonial disputes. The author tends to limit the scope of the paper to Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.