SUBHRANSU SARKAR Vs. INDRANI SARKAR (NEE DAS)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) It was submitted by Mr. Nikhil Nayyar, learned Senior Counsel for the Appellant that the Appellant and Respondent have been living separately for more than 16 years and for all practical purposes the marriage is dead. He relied upon two judgments of this Court in Sukhendu Das v. Rita Mukherjee (2017) 9 SCC 632 and Munish Kakkar v. Nidhi Kakkar (2020) 14 SCC 657 in support of his submission that this Court in exercise of its power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India has dissolved marriages when they are totally unworkable and irretrievable.

(3.) We have requested Mr. Ranjan Mukherjee to assist this Court as Amicus Curiae on behalf of the Respondent as she did not engage an Advocate. Mr. Ranjan Mukherjee informed this Court that the Respondent intends to continue to live with the Appellant. Mr. Mukherjee informed this Court that he spoke to the Respondent several times and the Respondent is not convinced that an unworkable marriage should be put to an end. In Sukhendu Das v. Rita Mukherjee (supra), this Court considered a similar situation where the marriage between the parties took place on 19.06.1992 and they were living apart from the year 2000. The Trial Court found that the husband could not prove cruelty by his wife and that he was not entitled for decree of divorce. The judgment of the Trial Court was upheld by the High Court and the same was the subject matter of challenge before this Court. The Respondent failed to appear before this Court in spite of notice being served. By holding that there was an irretrievable breakdown of marriage, this Court dissolved the marriage between the parties therein by observing that they had been living separately for more than 17 years and no useful purpose would be served by compelling them to live together in matrimony.