In our view, in facts and circumstances of the present case, it is not mere wear and tear of marriage, as held by the ld. Court below. The conduct of the parties in the present case evidences that there are irreconcilable differences between the parties, rendering the marriage, as of today, a mere legal fiction. It is not in dispute that the parties are residing separately since 2015. Even mediation attempts between the parties have remained unsuccessful. Though irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not available as a ground under the statute, yet, the reality of it has been recognised by the Supreme Court in a catena of decisions, and the power to grant divorce on ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is only with the Hon’ble Supreme Court under Article 142. Nonetheless, for the purposes of the present case, observations of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of ‘ Naveen Kohli v. Neelu Kohli’, (2006) 4 SCC 558 which was also a case of cruelty (mental and physical) where the H on’ble Supreme Court also considered the concept of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, may be notice d. In that case too the parties had been living separately since ten years and the wife was not ready to grant divorce to her husband. However, notwithstanding this factual position, Hon’ble Supreme Court was pleased to grant divorce in said matter and further noticed as follows:
