“The mere fact that the appellant/husband made repeated visits to the parental home of the respondent/wife or issued a legal notice expressing his willingness to resume matrimonial cohabitation cannot, by itself, establish that her refusal to return was without reasonable cause,” the order read.
8-month marriage, dowry, cruelty
The man married his wife in February 2022, and she became pregnant. The couple’s relationship was cordial till October 2022. Later, she allegedly left for her parents’ home after the husband received information about her mother’s illness.
Justices Parth Prateem Sahu and Sachin S Rajput held that the husband had failed to establish that the wife had left without reasonable excuse.
Three days later, the husband went to bring her back. After the Diwali festival, he returned, but the wife allegedly refused to accompany him to his place of work. Thereafter, he claimed to have repeatedly visited the house of his wife’s parents to take her back, but she refused to return and misbehaved, besides issuing a threat to implicate his family in a false case.
He also allegedly filed an application to take her back from the parents’ home, which was rejected in March 2023. Following this, he sent a notice, but the wife never returned.
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The wife, on her part, claimed that she was subjected to ill-treatment and manhandling by her husband and his parents on February 19, 2022, which she said resulted in a miscarriage. She also alleged that the husband had an illicit affair and that she had seen objectionable photos and messages on his phone. She claimed that the Swift car given in marriage by her parents was described as a cheaper vehicle, and just a week after the wedding, the husband, his parents, brother and maternal uncle allegedly started demanding a Creta car and Rs 5 lakh in cash.
She also alleged that he kept her educational certificates, Aadhaar card, caste certificate and bank passbook with him. She further alleged that she was subjected to beating and threats after questioning his alleged affair.
‘Assault, dowry demands’
The man, through advocate Navneet Kumar Yadav, argued that the allegations of dowry demand, assault and harassment levelled by the wife are false, an afterthought and unsupported by evidence. According to him, the husband has always been willing to discharge his marital obligations and has made all possible efforts to restore the marriage, but it is the wife who did not turn up. He sought to set aside the family court’s order.
The wife, represented by advocate Madhunisha Singh, submitted that he did not withdraw from her husband without cause, but she was forced to live with her parents due to continuous ill-treatment, physical assault and dowry demands made by the husband and his family members.
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Wife has reasonable cause: Court
The high court held that the husband had failed to establish that the wife had left without reasonable excuse. It pointed out that the wife’s allegations of ill-treatment and manhandling, demand of dowry in the form of a Creta car and Rs 5 lakh in cash, and the circumstances surrounding her miscarriage, were significant when considered along with the complaints and domestic violence proceedings initiated by her.
“These aspects, taken cumulatively, cannot be brushed aside or treated as wholly irrelevant to the question of whether the respondent/wife had reasonable justification for living separately,” it added.
The court added, “The withholding of documents belonging to the respondent/wife, particularly when their return had been repeatedly sought, constitutes an additional circumstance which cannot be ignored.”
It found that the evidence indicated that the wife had a reasonable explanation for living apart from her husband and the man’s repeated attempts to resume marital life could not be seen in isolation. “Such subsequent expressions of willingness have to be considered in the context of the circumstances prevailing between the parties and the evidence already brought on record,” it added.
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The high court then upheld the family court’s order rejecting the husband’s plea for resumption of conjugal rights, and dismissed his appeal.
Justices Parth Prateem Sahu and Sachin S Rajput held that the husband had failed to establish that the wife had left without reasonable excuse.