SOURCE - https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_doubting-wifes-character-is-cruelty-delhi-high-court_1564140
Next time you pass remarks on the character of your wife, be careful as she can drag you to court for your words and demand divorce. The Delhi high court has ruled that this is a form of cruelty.
Justice Kailash Gambhir, while giving relief to Meghna (name changed) and allowing her divorce from her husband of over 30 years, said, “Cruelty is the very antithesis of love and affection and what may be a cruelty in one case may not be treated as an act of cruelty in another case. However, irrespective of the social, educational, and economic background of the parties, no one will tolerate an attack on their chastity or moral character, which is the worst form of cruelty.”
Meghna had challenged the trial court order of 1998 that had dismissed her plea of divorce, saying that these grounds are not enough to pass a decree.
Setting aside the trial court order, Justice Gambhir said the court failed to comprehend as to how such a view could be taken by the trial court following the husband’s malicious allegations that his wife was having a relationship with a sadhu and was staying out of the house at nights.
“Casting such aspersions on the character of the other spouse can cause a deleterious effect on the mind of such spouse and the same is a worse form of cruelty,” he said. In the present case, Meghna married Shantanu (name changed) in 1980 and after two years, they had a child, whom they named Neha (name changed).
According to Meghna, soon after Neha’s birth, Shantanu used to beat her and blamed her for not giving birth to a male child.
“Shantanu used to pull me by my hair and throw me out on the streets in the presence of our neighbours and turned me out along with my daughter and forced us to spend nights outside the house,” Meghna had alleged.
“Married life should be assessed as a whole and a few isolated instances over a certain period will not amount to cruelty. Ill-conduct must be precedent for a fairly lengthy period where the relationship has deteriorated to the extent that because of the acts and behaviour of a spouse, one party finds it extremely difficult to live with the other party may amount to mental cruelty,” Justice Gambhir said.
