The Chhattisgarh High Court recently ruled that if a wife alleges an illicit relationship between her husband and his mother, it would amount to mental cruelty thus a ground for seeking divorce from her.
A division bench comprising Justice Goutam Bhaduri and Justice Sanjay Agrawal quashed an order passed by a family court in Durg in March 2020 in which it had denied divorce to the appellant-husband.
The High Court noted that the woman (wife) had alleged that her husband and his mother had an illicit relationship while her father-in-law had a bad eye on her.
The bench opined that by these kinds of allegations, the wife hasn’t just thrashed but ‘assassinated’ the character of her own mother-in-law which cannot be sidelined by saying that it was a kind of allegation that was made on the spur of the moment.
The Court ruled, “The nature of such statement destroys the reputation and value of the husband and wife in the eyes of each other and it cannot be said to be a normal wear and tear or isolated incident. When the wife affirms her statement made in the different forums wherein the sacred relation of mother & son is being attacked by such accusation certainly it would lead to mental cruelty.”
When it comes to background, the couple was married on November 5, 2011, and moved to Durgapur, West Bengal. However, the husband alleged that after the wedding, the wife’s behaviour towards him was not congenial and she often used to hurl abuses at him and his mother too. Moreover, he alleged that his wife frequently skip preparing meals and forcing him to either stay starved or go eat at a restaurant or hotel.
The man (husband) also claimed that the wife used to threaten him to file a false case against him. He also said that in December 2013, when the couple visited his parents’ home in Bhatpara in Chhattisgarh, she didn’t even stay there for more than 2 days but instead opted to go to her parent’s house in Bhilai and never returned after that.
However, the wife denied all the allegations and claimed that while she was working, her whole salary was being taken by the husband’s family members. And when she expressed her desire to become a mother, her husband refused by saying that they may have a female child whose living can be costly.
Furthermore, she also claimed that in December 2013, when she came to Bhatapara from Durgapur, she was abandoned at Bilaspur Railway Station and her husband denied to take her with him and hence, she went to her parental house. She also alleged that her husband had humiliated her in the name of witchcraft.
After examination of all the contentions and evidence on record, the Court noted that the wife had filed a case under Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code (IPC); however, the family members of the husband had been acquitted in the matter.
The bench further referred to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Rani Narasimha Sastry vs Rani Suneela Rani wherein the apex court had held that when a prosecution is launched against the husband on a complaint made by the wife under Section 498a of IPC which eventually resulted in acquittal, then in such a case, it cannot be said that no cruelty was meted out to the husband.
Henceforth, the bench quashed the family court’s order and granted divorce to the couple.
Senior Advocate Sharmila Singhai and Advocate PR Patankar represented the husband. While, Advocates Uttam Pandey, Jitendra Gupta, and Hari Om Rai represented the Wife.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/accusing-husband-illicit-relationship-with-own-mother-cruelty-chhattisgarh-high-court
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