New Delhi August 19: The Supreme Court today went into a self-introspection mode when it deprecated the practice of apex court judges passing directions in various matters, including divorce proceedings, in violations of statutory provisions.
A bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and Asok Kumar Ganguly said even the apex court cannot invoke its extraordinary powers vested under Article 142 for passing such directions.
The bench regretted that though under the Hindu Marriages Act there is no provision for granting divorce to a couple on the ground of “irretrievable breakdown” of marriage, the apex court has been granting divorce to couples for such a reason.
“There are at least nine judgements from this court where divorce has been granted on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriages, even though there is no provision under the Hindu Marriage Act for granting divorce on such a ground,” the bench observed while dealing with a civil dispute.
Justice Katju also took the opportunity to express his anguish at the direction passed in the 1990s by the then Chief Justice of India J S Verma in the M C Mehta case directing the authorities to restrict the speed of motor vehicles to a maximum of 40 km/ph in Delhi and creation of lane systems for vehicular movement.
—Agencies