Irretrievable breakdown a ground to dissolve marriage under Article 142: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ruled it can invoke its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown. The bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, A S Oka, Vikram Nath and J K Maheshwari, was dealing with more than one set of questions including what could be the broad parameters for the exercise of powers under Article 142 to dissolve a marriage between consenting parties without referring them to the family court to wait for the mandatory period prescribed under section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act. While pronouncing the verdict, the bench said it has never been in doubt or debate that the top court is empowered under Article 142 of the Constitution to do "complete justice". On September 20 last year, the apex court had said, "We do believe that another question which would require consideration would be whether the power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India is inhibited in any manner in a scenario where there is an irretrievable breakdown of marriage in the opinion of the court but one of the parties is not consenting to the terms."