A division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of Delhi High Court while allowing the dissolution of marriage between the couple observed that persistent efforts of a wife to live separately from her husband’s family without giving a justifiable reason can be termed as cruelty.

The bench noted that wife must have some justifiable reason to live separately from her husband’s family. “If the wife makes an attempt to deviate from the custom prevalent in the society, she must have some justifiable reason for that. Normally, no husband would tolerate and would like to be separated from his parents and other family members. The persistent efforts of respondent wife to constrain the appellant to be separated from the family would be torturous for the husband and would constitute an act of cruelty.”

Justice observed that in 2016 judgment, Supreme court said that in a Hindu Society, it is the pious obligation of the son to maintain the parents.  

The bench said that “The only inference that can be drawn is that her insistence to live separately from the other family members was whimsical and had no justifiable reason. Such persistent insistence can only be termed as an act of cruelty. The appellant (husband) has stated that there was constant bickering and abuse and that she wanted to live a luxurious life and insulted the appellant and his family members, refused to do her household work, and was quarrelsome with the family members. Such incident as narrated by the appellant may seem innocuous when considered individually, but when considered collectively, it shows that there was no peace in the matrimonial home”.

The couple got married in the year 2000. They separated in 2007. Thereafter, husband sought for dissolution of marriage in the family court stating that the wife was a quarrelsome lady, she did not show respects to his elder family members and insisting him to live separately from his parents without giving a justifiable reason.

However, family court rejected the husband’s petition for dissolution of marriage stating  that the man’s testimony did not reveal any act of the woman which could be termed as physical or mental cruelty.

In the appeal preferred by the husband against the family’s court order, wife submitted that there is no possibility of her staying together with the husband and she had no objection if the appeal is allowed.

By observing the fact, the bench granted the petition of the husband and dissolved the marriage between the parties.

“Accordingly, in view of the above, the marriage between the appellant and the respondent is hereby dissolved on the ground of cruelty and desertion under Section 13(1)(i-a) & (i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955’.