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Synopsis

The Madras High Court at Madurai Bench recently observed that a wife threatening to commit suicide or filing a false dowry harassment case constitutes mental cruelty, justifying grounds for divorce.

The observation was made in a case where the husband had appealed for divorce from his wife citing prolonged mental suffering caused by her actions.

The husband sought a divorce, claiming that his wife consistently threatened to end her life and falsely accused him and his family of dowry harassment. He argued that these actions amounted to cruelty, creating an intolerable living environment.

The high court analyzed the prolonged marital discord between the couple, who were married in 2004 and have lived separately since 2007.

The bench of Justice S. Srimathy emphasized that cruelty in a marital relationship extends beyond physical harm and includes mental harassment.

Court noted that mental cruelty should be assessed in light of the couple's social circumstances, their interactions, and the overall impact of such actions on the spouse's mental well-being.

In the present case, court found that the wife's repeated threats of suicide and her dowry harassment allegations against the husband and his entire family had severely damaged their relationship and caused significant mental anguish to the husband.

One of the critical points was the wife’s admission that she attempted suicide during their daughter's birthday celebration in 2006.

Cort also took into account the husband’s submission that the wife had threatened multiple times to file a dowry case if her demands were not met. Her threats, compounded by her actions of filing a false dowry harassment complaint, were seen as a deliberate attempt to harass the husband.

“…when the wife had attempted to commit suicide, when there is repeated threat to commit suicide, when the wife had visited the workplace and insulted the husband, when the husband was threatened by the wife’s brother during his official duty, when the dowry harassment case was filed against the parents, sisters and their husbands and when the said dowry harassment case was published in the newspapers along with the names of the entire family, especially the name of the sisters and their husbands’ names were published, then the same would amount to mental cruelty caused to the husband by the wife,” court said.

Court also dismissed the wife's counterarguments. She had claimed that the husband's allegations were false and that she had never made such threats. However, the court was convinced by the evidence presented, including letters and testimonies, which corroborated the husband's account of enduring constant mental harassment.

Court, therefore, held that in the present case, it was clear that the husband was suffering in the hands of the wife and no longer he could carry on such suffering.

Accordingly, court concluded that the marriage had irretrievably broken down, with no possibility of reconciliation and thus, it granted the husband’s plea for divorce, bringing an end to their tumultuous 17-year-long legal battle.

Case Title: xxxx v.    yyyy