Read Time: 08 minutes

Synopsis

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently reaffirmed that a wife calling her husband "Hijda" and insulting his mother for giving birth to him amounts to cruelty while granting divorce to the couple.

The court made the said observations in an appeal moved by the wife challenging the decision of the family court, which allowed the husband's divorce plea and dissolved the marriage by decree of divorce on the grounds of cruelty.

The Division Bench, presided over by Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi, while dismissing the appeal moved by the wife, upheld the decision of the family court to dissolve the marriage on the grounds of cruelty.

The bench, in its order, said, "If the findings recorded by the learned Family Court, are examined in the light of the aforesaid judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, it comes out that the acts and conduct of the appellant-wife amounts to cruelty. Firstly, terming the respondent-husband as Hijda (transgender) and calling his mother to have given birth to a transgender, is an act of cruelty.”

While placing reliance on the Apex court's judgment in K. Srinivasan Rao v. D.A. Deepa, the court noted that making unfounded, indecent, and defamatory remarks against a spouse constitutes mental cruelty. The court noted that "mental cruelty is a state of mind. The feelings of deep anguish, disappointment, and frustration in one spouse caused by the conduct of the other spouse for a long time may lead to mental cruelty."

Notably, the said marriage between the husband and wife was solemnized in 2017, according to Hindu rites and rituals. 

According to the husband's plea, the wife was addicted to porn and mobile games, and she used to ask the husband to record the duration of their sexual intercourse, adding that it must go on for at least 10-15 minutes at a time and that it must be at least thrice per night. It added that she would taunt him for not “being physically fit to compete with her” and that she wanted to marry someone else.

Further, it was alleged that she would ask her husband’s mother to bring her lunch 4-5 times a day while ignoring the fact that the mother was suffering from age-related ailments. It was also alleged that the wife would wake up late in the morning, saying that she was a late riser and that anyone should not disturb her sleep.

At this juncture, Advocate Vaibhav Jain, alongside Advocates Akshat Dalal and Anil K Sokal, appearing for the wife, vehemently argued that it was the husband's family that committed cruelty against the wife. It was submitted that the wife moved out of the marital home due to beating by the husband.

The wife's counsel further submitted that her in-laws had administered intoxicating medicines to her due to which she fell unconscious, and that “during that state, they put a tabiz from a tantrik around her neck besides administering her intoxicating water so that they could have control over her.”

However, the court disregarded the testimony of the wife, terming it as self-serving. The court also dismissed the domestic violence petition filed by the wife, noting that the allegations made by the wife could not be substantiated, as she did not examine her parents or close relatives.

In light of the above, the court opined that the parties had been living separately for the last six years, and it was evident that their marriage had been ruptured and had become a dead wood. Accordingly, the court granted divorce to the couple on the grounds of cruelty and dismissed the appeal.