Calling husband ‘fatty shaped’, ‘black’ no reason for divorce: Chhattisgarh High Court

“He (husband) has alleged that the respondent/wife used to brand him as being black-complexioned or a fatty shaped but they cannot be taken to be sufficient ground for granting a decree of divorce to him,” the high court said on September 18.

Separated since 2019

The couple got married in March 2019, after which the woman lived with the husband and his family for about two to three months. According to the husband, the wife treated him with hostility during this period, threatened to implicate him in false cases, and frequently went to her parental home. Later, she allegedly suffered a miscarriage of twins.

Justices Parth Prateem Sahu and Sachin Singh Rajput found that the husband’s allegations against the wife were not backed by evidence.

On the contrary, the wife alleged that her husband had an affair with another woman and that after she found out about it, he started consuming alcohol, abusing her, and failed to provide proper medical care during her pregnancy. She added that during her illness, her mother took her to Raigarh for treatment and, after her recovery, she repeatedly asked her husband and his family to take her back, but they did not. Her mother later submitted a complaint in February 2020.

The family court rejected the man’s divorce application in August 2024, following which he moved the high court.

The man, through advocate Parasmani Shriwas, argued that the wife has been living separately from him since December 2019 without any justifiable reason, and that despite his willingness to continue the marriage, she has not resumed the relationship.

On the contrary, the wife, through advocate Punit Ruparel, supported the family court’s order and sought dismissal of this appeal.

‘No allegation proved by husband’

Referring to the ground of desertion, the high court found that the husband failed to prove that the wife was living with her parents without a reasonable excuse. It noted her mother’s statement that the wife had suffered a miscarriage. The court also noted that the wife and her mother had repeatedly stated that the husband made no effort to take her back to the marital home.

The court found that the husband had levelled a number of allegations against his wife but had not backed them with evidence. “May be, the allegations are many in number by the appellant/husband but in the absence of any pinpointed evidence to substantiate the same, they cannot be made basis for granting decree of divorce in his favour,” the court said.

Dismissing the husband’s appeal, the court held, “Thus, the approach of learned family court in rejecting the plea of dissolution of marriage cannot be said to be faulted with.”