New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court has ruled that a woman repeatedly leaving her marital home, through no fault of her husband, is an act of mental cruelty.
A bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait observed that marriage ‘flourishes’ in the ‘fertile soil of mutual support, devotion and fidelity’, and distance and abandonment irreparably sever this bond.
The court’s ruling came while granting divorce to an estranged couple on grounds of cruelty and abandonment by the wife.
In seeking a divorce, the husband had alleged that his wife had an intemperate and capricious character, and she had deserted him at least seven times.
The bench, also comprising Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, allowed the appeal challenging the family court order refusing to grant him divorce, noting that over a period of about 19 years, there were seven divorce decrees, each of about three to ten months.
It said that prolonged periods of separation could lead to an irreparable severance of the marital bond, amounting to mental cruelty, and that ending or depriving cohabitation and marital relations is also an act of extreme cruelty.
“It is a clear case where the respondent (wife) has left the matrimonial home from time to time, without any act or fault of the appellant. Such withdrawal by the defendant from time to time is an act of mental cruelty. to which the appellant (husband) was subjected, without any reason or justification,” the court said.
“We find that there is overwhelming evidence to show that it is the respondent who has subjected the appellant to a life of uncertainty, without settlement and mental peace in the marital life, despite spending twenty years together. It is a case of mental anguish to the appellant, which entitles him to divorce,” it added.
It further noted that the evidence showed that the wife had no intention of continuing the marital relationship as she had not made any serious conciliatory efforts to return to the matrimonial home.
The court therefore ruled that the man was entitled to divorce on the grounds of desertion by his wife.
“We hereby conclude from our above detailed discussion that the learned Family Judge has erred in dismissing the divorce petition. We hereby set aside the impugned judgment dated 11.04.2022 and grant the divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion under Sections 13 (1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955,” the report said.
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