In Brief
This Supreme Court judgment addresses whether a marriage can be dissolved based on irretrievable breakdown when spouses have lived separately for over 22 years. The Court held that although mutual consent is typically required for divorce, the exceptional powers under Article 142 of the Constitution can be invoked to dissolve a marriage where continuing separation makes reconciliation impossible. The Court granted the husband's divorce petition while mandating him to pay the wife substantial lump sum permanent alimony and maintenance until payment, thereby protecting the wife's interests while dissolving the irretrievably broken marriage.
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