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Synopsis

While granting a divorce decree to a man on the ground of mental cruelty inflicted upon him by his estranged wife, the Delhi High Court said that there was no chance of reconciliation between them given the long separation of over 11 years peppered with false allegations levelled by the woman.

A division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said, "The marital discord between the parties has pinnacled as there is a complete loss of faith, trust, understanding and love between the parties. Such long separation brings with it deprivation of conjugal relationship and cohabitation, which is the basic foundation of any matrimonial relationship. The separation for more than eleven years, for no fault of the appellant (man), in itself is an act of cruelty.”

The court made the observation while allowing the man's appeal challenging a family court's decision refusing to grant him divorce on grounds of cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The couple, who married in November 2011, faced issues shortly after their wedding and lived together for only six months. The man alleged that his estranged wife pressured him to visit her parental home and threatened self-harm if he refused. When she left the matrimonial home, she adamantly refused to return.

While the woman claimed cruelty and harassment for insufficient dowry, asserting that her husband and his family left her at her parental home and refused to take her back, the court found no evidence supporting her allegations.

The court noted that, despite the short duration of the marriage, the husband's conciliatory efforts, including sending a legal notice and requesting her return, were unsuccessful. The woman did not produce evidence of her willingness to reconcile or efforts to return to the matrimonial home.

"From the comprehensive reading of the entire evidence, it is established that the respondent (woman) was not able to adjust in the matrimonial home, and there were adjustment issues between her and the appellant (man). The respondent has not produced any evidence to show that any conciliatory efforts were made by her or she was willing to return to her matrimonial home. Her stand in the reply to the legal notice was that she can return only if the appellant and his family members stopped harassing her from the dowry demands," the court noted.

The court added that false allegations and complaints during the extended separation became a source of mental cruelty, making reconciliation improbable. It concluded that the appellant had been subjected to cruelty, allowing the appeal and granting divorce on the grounds of cruelty.

"We therefore conclude from the evidence of the parties that the appellant was subjected to cruelty. The appeal is, therefore, allowed, and the divorce is granted on the ground of cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the HMA, 1955," the court ordered. 

Case Title: Prahlad Kumar v. Deepa