[News18] Wife Calling Her Husband Coward & Unemployed, Forcing Him To Stay Away From His Parents Amounts To Cruelty: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court recently upheld the divorce decree passed by the trial court against the wife on the ground of mental cruelty. The wife-appellant was forcing her husband to leave his parents and live separately. She was also calling him coward and unemployed.

The division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar said that it is a pious obligation of the son to live and maintain the parents. A son living with his parents is absolutely normal in Indian culture and ethos.

“Our Indian culture nurtures the concept of the pious obligation of the son to maintain his parents. If a wife makes an attempt to deviate the son from the normal practice and normal custom of society, she must have some justifiable reason for that and in this case, we do not find the existence of any justifiable reason, except the instances of clash of ego on trifle domestic issues and problems related to fulfilment of financial requirements,” the bench observed.

Judges further noted that it is not common practice for a son in India to get separated from his parents at the instance of the wife. There was no 'justifiable reason' for the wife to ask the husband to get separated, which clearly amounts to mental cruelty against the husband. No husband would tolerate such acts of wife and no son would like to be separated from his parents and other family members.

The bench was hearing an appeal filed by a wife challenging a judgment of the family court in Paschim Midnapur granting divorce to the husband on the grounds of cruelty on May 25, 2009. The couple's marriage had been annulled by the family court on July 2, 2001.

It was the husband's claim that his wife referred to him as a "coward and unemployed" and continued to fight over little matters in order to distance him from his parents.

The bench highlighted multiple instances of the wife's unpleasant behaviour, including her hostile attitude towards the husband and his family.

The Court further stated that the wife filed a false complaint against the husband, costing him his government position.

The court highlighted the wife’s diary where she had expressed “I hate that coward to whom I am going to marry” and that ‘she had no consent to marry to unemployed person like him and tried to stop this marriage as she wanted to marry elsewhere, even after finalization of this marriage but her parents forcibly married her to petitioner.”

“Cruelty can be against both spouses. Gender equality also refers to equality for both spouses. No spouse has power over the other and can impose his or her decision or want on the other. When two couples' interests and demands diverge and they are unable to reconcile, each should be prepared to face the eventual result of marital dissolution,” the court said.

The court further observed that they are living separately for more than 16 years now. Where there has been a long period of continuous separation, it may fairly be concluded that the matrimonial bond is beyond repair and the continuance of such marriage would itself amount to cruelty.

From the above observations, it need not mention that calling someone cowardly and unemployed in marriage and forcing a son to leave his parents without any justifiable reason will amount to mental cruelty.

Lastly, the bench observed that there is no error in the trial Court's judgment in granting a divorce decree. The trial court rightly identified the presence of mental cruelty in the wife’s behaviour towards her husband.

 Accordingly, the present bench dismissed the appeal filed by the wife.

Case Title: Jharna Mandal vs. Prashant Kumar Mandal