Everyone says the marriage has irretrievably broken down. Is that a ground for divorce?

This is one of the biggest gaps between what people expect the law to be and what it is.

The position in the statute

Irretrievable breakdown is not a ground in the Hindu Marriage Act. Section 13 lists cruelty, desertion, adultery and the others; breakdown is not among them. So a family court, a district judge, and even a High Court in an ordinary appeal cannot dissolve a marriage simply because it is plainly finished. The Law Commission has recommended adding it more than once. Parliament has not.

What the Supreme Court can do

In Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023) a Constitution Bench confirmed that the Supreme Court may, in exercise of its power under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice, dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, and may do so even without the consent of both parties, and may waive the Section 13B(2) cooling-off period. The Court also set out the factors it will consider: the period of cohabitation, the period of separation, the nature of the allegations, attempts at reconciliation, and whether the parties have already moved on.

Long separation as evidence

Even in the ordinary courts, a very long separation is not irrelevant. Courts have repeatedly held that keeping a dead marriage alive is itself a form of cruelty, and prolonged separation with no attempt at reconciliation is regularly treated as evidence of cruelty or desertion. So the substance often gets in through the recognised grounds, even though the label is not available.

If you are advised to "just file on breakdown"

Ask which section that is under. In a district court there is no answer to that question, and a petition pleaded that way invites dismissal.