The Delhi High Court has ruled that false allegations of illicit relationships between spouses constitute the "ultimate kind of cruelty" and reflect a complete breakdown of trust and faith essential for a matrimonial relationship to endure. The verdict was delivered while upholding a family court's decree of divorce granted to a husband on grounds of mental cruelty inflicted by his wife.
In a judgement with far-reaching implications for divorce cases, a division bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that false accusations of extramarital affairs undermine the foundation of trust required for a marriage to thrive. The bench dismissed the wife's appeal against the family court's decision, which had granted divorce to the husband based on "immense mental cruelty" inflicted by the wife.
The couple had married in 2009 and had a daughter in the subsequent year. The husband alleged that he was subjected to various acts of cruelty by his wife, which included leaving the matrimonial home. The family court had allowed the husband's divorce petition under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, citing cruelty by the wife.
The High Court's judgement emphasized that matrimonial relationships hinge on conjugal harmony and cohabitation, which form the bedrock of a partnership. Denying cohabitation by one spouse is considered severe cruelty, and the Court noted that even seemingly trivial quarrels can disrupt mental peace and cause ongoing agony when they become regular occurrences.
Furthermore, the Court addressed the husband's allegations that the wife had made false suicide attempts and accused him of having illicit relationships. The bench noted that the wife failed to provide any evidence to substantiate these claims, labelling such baseless and reckless allegations as actions that can cause mental cruelty, warranting a divorce decree.
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