SC brings curtain down on 27-year-old marital discord, refuses divorce to octogenarian couple

Bringing down the curtains on a 27-year-old marital discord, the Supreme Court refused to grant divorce to a couple in the “late evening of their lives” saying the institution of marriage occupies an important place and plays a key role in the society.

The top court said despite the increasing trend of filing divorce proceedings in courts, the institution of marriage is still considered to be a pious, spiritual and invaluable emotional life-net between couples in the Indian society.

A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi dismissed the appeal filed by a 89-year-old man against the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court reversing a Chandigarh’s district court order granting divorce to him. His wife is aged 82. “In our opinion, one should not be oblivious to the fact that the institution of marriage occupies an important place and plays an important role in society… It is governed not only by the letters of law but by the social norms as well. So many other relationships stem from and thrive on the matrimonial relationships in the society. Therefore, it would not be desirable to accept the formula of ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ as a strait-jacket formula for the grant of relief of divorce under Article 142 of the Constitution of India,” the bench said.