BENGALURU: In ‘Tech City’ Bengaluru, it is the technology-driven social media that is playing the villain in marriages. A text, photo or emoticon can turn into a major grouse between spouses, big enough to bring them to the family court or the mediation centre seeking divorce.
Statistics from the last three years show a rise in the number of cases of divorce, under different legal sections. Under MC Divorce (Matrimonial Cases) section, there were 270 cases settled in 2016. This number jumped to 797 in 2017 and 1,068 until August 23 this year.
Advocates point out that one of the major causes of marital discord is, ironically, the one thing that is said to bring people together — technology. They feel reasons cited by spouses in the last five to six years are petty and superficial.
A practising advocate for 18 years, Mahesh M, says, “Couples are taking printouts of their WhatsApp conversations containing angry remarks or mean statements made to one another in the heat of the moment. They have begun citing minor texts and photos as evidence.”
He recalls one of the cases he handled, wherein two educated, well-paid partners were in a relationship for six years in college before tying the knot. “While there was work pressure, health issues, miscarriages and transfers that made their marriage difficult, the reason they brought up in court was trivial. The husband had an issue with his wife taking a selfie with a male friend from college days,” says Mahesh.
A female lawyer, on the condition of anonymity, says, “In one case, the husband was very particular that the wife not place her toothbrush and paste in his holder. She did it twice by mistake and he threw a fit, jumping on the table and screaming at her. There were no other issues between the two. This was the reason to call off the marriage.”
Family court advocate BN Nagaraja says just about anything can be a reason for separation. “Ego is the root cause and technology is merely a trigger. I have observed cases where either wife or husband starts suspecting their better half over WhatsApp messages with heart-shaped emoticon. Too many selfies taken with a friend also emerges as an issue,” he says.
“Spouses even go so far as to contact the friend with whom the selfies were taken to check the faithfulness of their partner. Both parties are financially independent and see no reason to put up with each other. Why should one listen to the other, is what they think,” he adds.
A common opinion shared by many advocates is that earlier, the women were dependent emotionally and financially on their husbands. Now, working class people have the capacity to survive on their own. Lawyer Santhosh Kumar feels the space given for compatibility between newly-weds is less. “People do not give the time to get adjusted to each other. Within a month of marriage, they turn up at the mediation centre over something as small as a TV remote,” he says.
The number of cases in Bengaluru referred to the court under MC 13B section (mutual divorce) was 373 in 2016. This number saw a sharp increase to 1,384 in 2017 and 1536 this year so far. Of these, the number of cases settled (divorce granted) were 296, 1,214 and 1,344 respectively. On the other hand, the statistics on reunion shows a low success rate. Only 238 cases in 2016, 237 in 2017 and 142 cases in 2018 ended in couple reuniting.