In Brief
In this matrimonial appeal, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court's grant of divorce to the husband on grounds of mental cruelty and irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The wife had filed false dowry harassment complaints and abandoned attempts at reconciliation despite a brief period of cohabitation. After over fifteen years of separation, the Court found the filing of frivolous complaints and prolonged estrangement constituted mental cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act. Although irretrievable breakdown is not a statutory ground, the Court invoked constitutional powers to dissolve a marriage that had become a legal fiction devoid of trust and companionship. The Court upheld the High Court's interference with concurrent lower court findings, noting the cumulative effect of the wife's conduct and the marriage's evident breakdown. Permanent alimony of Rs. 50 lakhs each was awarded to the wife and daughter for education and security.
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