Delhi High Court Upholds Dissolution Of Marriage, Says....

Posted on 17 February, 2023 by Irika

"We are also certain that the evidence of cruelty is adequate to meet the requirements of Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act and that it meets that standard. As a result, we don't see any flaws in the decision granting the petition and the divorce on the grounds of cruelty. We therefore conclude that the appeal has no merit. Because of this, the appeal is denied, a bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan declared.

Every person is entitled to live with dignity and honour and no one is expected to live with constant abuse being hurled upon him, the Delhi High Court has held while upholding the divorce decree granted to a man on the ground of cruelty by his estranged wife.

The Delhi High Court recently ruled that everyone has the right to live with dignity and honour, upholding the divorce judgement of a man who had his wife request it due to cruelty.

The family court's verdicts that the wife used offensive language against the husband and his parents and treated him cruelly were sustained by a division bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan.

The bench dismissed the wife's appeal against the family court's decision to grant the husband's petition for a divorce pursuant to section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956, which sought to dissolve the marriage on the grounds of cruelty.

According to the evidence presented in the case, the appellant-actions wife's "in the present case are of such quality, magnitude, and impact as would have caused mental agony, pain, anger, and suffering to the respondent-husband on a regular and continuous basis and thus clearly amount to cruelty,"the court ruled.

“Repeated use of words of the nature as extracted... are clearly humiliating and would certainly amount to cruelty. No person can be expected to live with constant abuse being hurled upon him,”the bench said. 

Court also rejected the woman's attorney's argument that particular times and dates regarding the alleged mistreatment were not disclosed. 

The high court ruled that this would lose its relevance because the man had testified that the woman used those insults against him and his family whenever there was a fight, implyingthat they had been used frequently throughout the time they were together.

    The court quoted the wife'sstatements as follows:

“- 2 kodi ka policewalah tera baap, mera kuch nahi bigad sakta, ministry tak pahuch hai mere papa ki.

- dikhayi nahi deta baat kar rahi hu, saans ki bimari hai lakwa nahi hai jo khud nahi le sakte dawai.

 - main itna kharch nahi karti jitna teri dawao pe kharch hota hai.

- I am a superintendent in education department, your family is not upto our standard.’’

The respondent-husband has in his testimony specifically stated that whenever a quarrel would take place the appellant-wife would use those words against him and his family, which implies that the said words have been used repeatedly over the period when they were together. Accordingly, the learned counsel for the appellant claims that specificdates and time is not mentioned, in the facts and circumstances of the case, losing its significance.

The family court observed in its July 2022 judgement that the man had proven the charges of cruelty and ruled that the woman's behaviour towards her in-laws and spouse was not amicable and that she had abused them in the past.