‘Public accusations tarnish reputation before verdict’: Chhattisgarh High Court rules against wife, grants man divorce

‘Permanent scar on husband’s mind’

• The husband not only stood trial for seven years, but also suffered prosecution for a fairly long time, which caused a permanent scar on his mind and has definitely adversely affected his status in society.
• To compel a spouse to endure the shadow of a criminal prosecution that is eventually found to be baseless is to inflict a wound that no reconciliation can easily heal.
• The allegations of cruelty and demand of dowry, etc., levelled by the estranged wife could not withstand judicial scrutiny since they remained unsubstantiated, devoid of evidence, and ultimately collapsed under “their own weight”.

• It was placed on record that the estranged wife had filed a complaint alleging that she was subjected to cruelty and harassment in connection with dowry demands and was also labelled as a witch.
• However, the husband, his two brothers, his father and mother, all five, were acquitted in June 2025 of all those charges.
• Such allegations are extremely serious, affecting the character and the reputation of the estranged husband, and he has also faced apprehension of arrest and suffered great mental trauma from being arrested.
• The wife’s justification for leaving the matrimonial home stands eroded, and it is established that she was living separately without reasonable cause.
• The parties have remained entrenched in their respective solitudes, living separately for a period of seven years.
• As far as the allegation of cruelty by the husband and his family members remained unsubstantiated, it makes the wife’s withdrawal from the matrimonial home without any reasonable cause.
• The prolonged period of seven years, coupled with the lack of any effort towards reconciliation, clearly demonstrates an intentional and permanent abandonment of the matrimonial obligations by the wife.
• It is evident that the abandonment was both intentional and without the consent of the husband, and thereby the estranged wife has effectively repudiated the matrimonial bond with the clear intention of bringing cohabitation to a permanent end.
• The husband is entitled for decree of divorce, and consequently, the marriage solemnised between the husband and the estranged wife is dissolved.
• The estranged wife is at liberty to claim permanent alimony by making a separate application.

‘Marriage, demand to live separately, desertion’

• The marriage between the parties was solemnised in February 2015 as per Hindu rites and customs.
• It was claimed that immediately after marriage, the estranged wife resided with him for 10-11 days and thereafter proceeded to her maternal home.
• She also started pressurising the husband to live separately from his ailing and aged parents, and in case of refusal, she threatened him with implicating him in a false case.
• It was further alleged that from July, 2017, the estranged wife started residing separately without there being any reason.
• Later, in 2018, the wife lodged an FIR against the husband and his family members for an offence punishable under Sections 498A (cruelty) and Section 5 of the Chhattisgarh Tonhi Pratadna Nivaran Adhiniyam, 2005 (causing mental cruelty considering a person as a witch).
• It was further pleaded that counselling was done by the family welfare committee in July 2018, in which his wife categorically and unequivocally stated that she is not willing to reside in her matrimonial home by leaving her father and mother.
• It has also been pleaded that the wife is residing separately from the husband for more than 5-6 years, which falls under the definition of cruelty, and living separately for more than 5-6 years, which leads to the ground of desertion under the Hindu Marriage Act.
• It has also been stated that a false case was filed by the estranged wife against the husband and his family members, which constitutes the ground of mental cruelty.

Submission by parties

• Appearing for the husband, advocate Sunil Sahu submitted that the family court had dismissed the application for dissolution of marriage in January 2023 and the present appeal was filed in February 2023.
• He emphasised that in June 2025, his client, his two brothers, his father and mother-all five family members- were acquitted of the charges levelled against them by the estranged wife.

• He sought the grant of divorce based on the cruelty at the hands of his estranged wife by filing a false complaint against the husband and his family.
• Representing the estranged wife, advocate Aman Kesharwani argued that though the charges have not been established for the offence of mental cruelty, they would be filing an appeal against the acquittal order.