Observing that marriage is based on “trust and respect” and that if this trust is broken, it is “non-repairable”, the Jharkhand High Court has granted divorce to a woman doctor from her husband, who is also a medical practitioner. The couple have been living separately since September 2019.
“The conduct of the respondent- husband has showed that it is the mental cruelty caused by him by having illicit relationship with another woman and has forced appellant-wife to leave her matrimonial house as it was almost impossible for the appellant-wife to live with the respondent-husband where the thread of trust has already been broken,” the September 23 order read.
“The relationship between a wife and husband is based on the trust and respect to have for each other, and if it is broken it is non-repairable, as trust is the foundation of marriage. Marriage is a relationship built on mutual trust, companionship and shared experiences,” it added.
Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Pradeep Kumar Srivastava said cruelty can be either mental or physical, and can be intentional or unintentional.
Husband’s ‘illicit relationship’
The couple, who wed in February 2018, started living separately from September 2019. The wife claimed that her husband had an illicit relationship with a widow and later, following family intervention, he promised not to repeat such acts.
However, the woman added that she was subjected to physical cruelty when she protested, resulting in a serious assault in which she suffered a slipped disc and traumatic osteoarthritis, among other ailments.
Story continues below this ad
The husband, on his part, said the wife’s physical cruelty claim was false and that she had obtained false medical documents from a nursing home in this regard. He said the prescriptions issued by the orthopaedic clinic did not record any such disease as she had claimed.
The husband filed a plea for resuming the marriage in January 2022. The wife, on the other hand, filed a case seeking to end the marriage in April 2022 on the ground of cruelty. The records also showed that the wife had clearly expressed her unwillingness to resume the marriage.
The family court, in its November 2023 order, dismissed the wife’s plea to dissolve the marriage, pointing out that she failed to prove her case of cruelty and was, hence, not entitled to divorce on that ground. Aggrieved, she moved the high court challenging the order.
Husband seeks to dismiss plea
The wife, through advocate Abhishek Thaku, argued that the family court committed serious illegality in passing the said judgment.
Story continues below this ad
On the contrary, the man, through his counsel Soumitra Baroi, submitted that it was incorrect on the wife’s part to claim that the issue of cruelty was not taken into consideration in the right perspective. He also added that the medical documents submitted by the wife were from a nursing home owned by her father. The husband sought dismissal of this appeal.
‘Thread of trust broken’
The high court noted that the woman had claimed that her husband habitually stayed away from the matrimonial residence at night. When questioned about this, he physically assaulted her instead of offering any explanation, the court found.
The bench held that the husband’s conduct amounted to mental cruelty, as he had an illicit relationship with another woman, forcing the wife to leave her matrimonial home. It said it was almost impossible for the wife to live with her husband when the “thread of trust has already been broken”.
The court mentioned that cruelty can be either “mental” or “physical”, and can be intentional or unintentional. It also gave the example that unintentionally waking your spouse up in the middle of the night may be mental cruelty. It mentioned that intention is not an essential element of cruelty, though it may be present. “Physical cruelty is less ambiguous and more ‘a question of fact and degree’,” it added.
Story continues below this ad
It further said that the nature of the allegations does not have to involve only illegal conduct such as asking for dowry. “Making allegations against the spouse in the written statement filed before the court in judicial proceedings may also be held to constitute cruelty,” it added.
The court said that in a matrimonial relationship, cruelty means the absence of mutual respect and understanding between spouses, which “embitters” the relationship.
Accordingly, the court rejected the family court’s order and allowed the woman’s appeal, ending her marriage with her estranged husband.
Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Pradeep Kumar Srivastava said cruelty can be either mental or physical, and can be intentional or unintentional.