HC grants divorce over accusations amounting to ‘worst form of insult’

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh high court on Friday allowed an appeal filed by a doctor against his wife—also a doctor—dissolving their 18-year marriage on the ground of mental cruelty. Holding that the wife's "serious and reckless allegations" against her husband amounted to cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a division bench comprising Justice Rajani Dubey and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad set aside the family court's Nov 2023 order dismissing the divorce petition, The couple married on July 6, 2008, in Raigarh district and have a daughter born in 2012. The appellant-husband, currently residing in Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, alleged that disputes arose soon after the honeymoon, with the wife refusing cohabitation and exhibiting abusive behaviour. He claimed that she attempted to strangulate him in 2009 and attacked him with a knife in 2014, suffered from night-time enuresis without seeking treatment, and claiming that she denied him access to their daughter.The respondent-wife, employed in Durg, countered these allegations, accusing her husband of being secretive, avoiding employment, and maintaining an illicit relationship with another woman. She also alleged that the woman in question created a nuisance at her residence in June 2019.Ground Of Desertion Rejected On Basis Of ‘Outings'While rejecting the ground of desertion—citing admitted joint outings, including a movie outing in Raipur in 2019—the bench focused on mental cruelty. It observed that the family court erred in ignoring the wife's written statement and testimony accusing the husband of an extra-marital affair, despite there being no rebuttal or explanation from him.Citing Supreme Court precedents, the high court observed: "Levelling disgusting accusations of unchastity and indecent familiarity is a grave assault on the character, honour and reputation of a spouse and amounts to the worst form of insult and cruelty." The court held that the wife's serious allegations in pleadings and oral evidence constituted mental cruelty, even in the absence of police complaints regarding alleged assaults, noting that domestic disputes often do not escalate into criminal proceedings. It further ruled that allegations of extra-marital relations—left unexplained by the husband—fell within the settled legal position that baseless and reckless accusations justify the grant of divorce.Ground Of Cruelty Upheld By CourtOn an overall assessment of the evidence, including unchallenged testimony and settled judicial principles, the bench concluded that cruelty was established, though desertion was not, as interactions between the parties continued until April 2019, falling short of the statutory 2-year period.The court directed the husband to pay Rs 25 lakh as a one-time permanent alimony to the wife, taking into account that both parties are employed and that the minor daughter remains in the mother's custody. The amount is to be paid within 6 months to avoid future disputes.