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Court highlighted that it was husband's case that he lived separately from his wife due to his job, while expecting her to stay with his parents the entire time to ensure that they were properly cared for
The Allahabad High Court recently observed that mere failure to take care of the aged parents of one's spouse cannot amount to cruelty as a ground for dissolution of marriage.
In an appeal filed against family court's rejection of husband's divorce plea, the division bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh pointed out that the husband sought divorce of the ground that his wife had committed cruelty but no inhuman or cruel behaviour was ever pleaded by him to established the allegation of cruelty necessary to be proved for dissolution of marriage.
The only allegations levelled against the wife was that she refused to discharge her moral duty to take care of husband's aged parents.
Court highlighted that the husband was a police official and he used to live away from his wife and there was nothing on record to show that the husband's parents used to live with the wife and she refused to take care of them.
On the other hand, the husband himself submitted that he lived separately from his wife, while expecting her to stay with his parents the entire time to ensure that they were properly cared for, court pointed out.
"In the first place, allegation of the daughter-in-law having failed to take all care of her in-laws is a subjective fact. What level of care was necessary or required or desirable, was never established by the appellant. In any case, no inhuman or cruel behaviour was ever pleaded by the appellant as may have established the allegation of cruelty necessary to be proved for dissolution of marriage. Mere failure to take care of aged parents of a spouse that too when the spouse had chosen to live away from his matrimonial home, may never amount to cruelty. What exact situation may prevail in each household is not for the Court to examine in detail or to lay down any law or principle in that regard," the division bench held.
Referring to a catena of judments of the top court, the division bench held that in the facts of the case at hand, no cruelty had been made out.
Accordingly, court dismissed the husband's appeal filed under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act challenging a 2008 order passed by Principal Judge, Family Court, Moradabad.
Case Title: Jyotish Chandra Thapliyal v. Smt. Deveshwari Thapliyal
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