A division Bench of Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya and Justice Uday Kumar, allowed an appeal for divorce by husband based on the grounds of cruelty, observing that the marital relationship between the parties has been completely broken down due to baseless allegations by the wife.
The Calcutta High Court Bench pointed out that it would be considered as mental cruelty when reckless allegations are made by the wife against her husband of having extra-marital affair with a colleague.
Facts of the case-
- The case was held by the Calcutta High Court after the husband/petitioner filed an appeal against the decision of the family court, where he was denied divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, based on the grounds of cruelty.
- The husband explained to the Court that he was being accused of having an illicit relationship with a female colleague, by his wife persistently, even when there was no evidence proving so.
- The husband contended that such allegations which were being made in the presence of his colleagues and relatives, have caused him severe mental trauma as well as social embarrassment.
- Also, it was also brought to the notice of the Court that without any reasonable basis, a number of criminal cases were filed by the wife against the husband and the members of his family.
- Husband’s plea, though was dismissed by the Family Court based on the grounds that marital disputes caused due to suspicions of infidelity, shall not necessarily amount to cruelty.
- Leading to which the husband filed for an appeal in the High Court.
Observations by the High Court-
- The High Court observed that a number of criminal complaints, including those related to dowry, torture and adultery, were filed by the wife/ respondent. The Bench observed that, “the wife has failed to furnish any reasonable basis of the criminal complaints, which might have serious consequences, not only of a penal nature but also damaging the husband’s reputation in society beyond repair.”
- The Court further noted that, “the unsubstantiated allegation of illicit physical relationship of the husband with an office colleague and friend as well as numerous criminal complaints being lodged baselessly (without the accusations therein relating to dowry torture being pleaded or proved before the civil court), while in the same breath, the respondent/wife canvasses her wish to live together with the husband, tantamount to mental cruelty of such an order that the parties cannot reasonably be expected to live together and endure such agony throughout the rest of their lives.”
- “Mere friendship between the husband and his office colleague and the closeness between such friends at the time of the husband‟s surgery (during which he was having constant conflict at home with the respondent/wife and was under the guillotine of a pending criminal case at the instance of the wife) being perceived to be an illicit sexual relationship between them by the wife is unacceptable and, in the context of non-corroboration by any independent witness, must be held to be baseless in the present context,” the Bench observed.
- The Court held that the wife used the criminal complaints as some tool to force her husband to continue the marital relationship each time he decided to end it. “The wife has been consistently giving out that she wants to live with her husband but has been simultaneously filing criminal complaints one after the other, which could lead to serious consequences not only of a criminal nature but also tarnishing the image of the appellant/husband irreparably in society,” the court held.
- Concluding the observations, the High Court Bench observed that the Family Court did fail to consider these crucial aspects decided to refuse the divorce petition by the husband and binding the parties forcibly into an “ever-irreconcilable and illusory bond.”
- Finally, the High Court granted decree of divorce on the basis of mental cruelty, thus dissolving the marriage between the parties, setting aside the decision of the family court.
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