Husband gets divorce on ground of wife's cruelty

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has allowed the divorce granted by a Family Court to a husband after it held that his acquittal in a fake criminal case filed by his wife proved she had been cruel to him.

“The appellant has filed a private complaint alleging the demand of dowry by the respondent/husband which has also resulted in acquittal and the Court has recorded a finding that there is no demand for dowry. The initiation of the criminal proceedings by the appellant itself amounts to cruelty as the said proceeding has resulted in acquittal,” the HC said. The woman, then 36, had filed an appeal in the High Court in 2013.

The division bench of Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Vijaykumar A Patil gave their judgment on the appeal recently. She was married in 1999 and stayed with her husband for one year and then left her matrimonial home. She filed a case under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C in 2007 for maintenance and proceedings under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act against her husband in 2008.

The husband was acquitted in both the cases. He then filed a petition for divorce in the Family Court alleging that “The act of the appellant (wife) deserting willfully and filing criminal cases has caused mental cruelty to the respondent.” The family court in its order in 2010 dissolved the marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act. The wife filed an appeal in the HC. The HC however ruled in favour of the husband.

“The appellant has admittedly stayed with the respondent approximately for a period of one year and thereafter she has not made any efforts to join the matrimonial home by either sending legal notice or by filing a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for restitution of conjugal rights. In the absence of any such attempt, a clear inference can be drawn based on the pleading and evidence that the appellant has left the matrimonial home without any cause and the said act of the appellant amounts to desertion and cruelty,” the HC said.

Dismissing the appeal, the HC said, “The Family Court has recorded a finding that the respondent has proved the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The aforesaid finding does not suffer from any infirmity warranting interference by this Court in the present appeal.”