Shilpa Sailesh Vs Varun Sreenivasan (Supreme Court of India)
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court examined the scope of its powers under Article 142(1) of the Constitution in matrimonial disputes arising under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The reference arose from conflicting judicial views on whether the Supreme Court could waive the six-month waiting period prescribed under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act for divorce by mutual consent and whether it could dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, despite such a ground not being expressly provided in the statute.
The Court framed three principal questions: the scope of Article 142(1); whether the Supreme Court could, while dealing with transfer petitions or other proceedings, grant divorce by mutual consent by dispensing with the statutory procedure under Section 13B and quash connected proceedings; and whether the Court could dissolve a marriage under Article 142 where it found a complete and irretrievable breakdown of marriage despite opposition from one spouse.
The Constitution Bench held that Article 142(1) confers a broad constitutional power to do “complete justice” in a pending cause or matter. While this power must be exercised with restraint and cannot disregard substantive statutory provisions founded on fundamental public policy, it is not inhibited by procedural requirements where departure is necessary to achieve complete justice. The Court explained that Article 142 is distinct from the inherent powers exercised by civil courts under Section 151 CPC or High Courts under Section 482 CrPC.
