RANCHI: The Jharkhand High Court has granted relief to a woman who was earlier ordered by the family court to resume her married life with her husband, observing that the woman had “reasonable cause” to live separately, after evidence proved allegations of mental torture and repeated Rs 10 lakh dowry demands during her pregnancy.
A court of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Pradeep Kumar Srivastava held that the woman could not be compelled to resume matrimonial life at the “cost of her dignity”.
“In India, it may be borne in mind that conjugal rights, that is, the right of the husband or the wife to society of the other spouse, are not “merely a creature of the statute,” the court mentioned.
The court noted that when a spouse demonstrates through evidence that cohabitation is impossible without mental torture and compromised dignity, courts cannot mandate a reunion. It further stated that irrespective of physical violence or assault, any marital circumstances that deny a woman the ability to live with dignity entitle her to reside separately and seek maintenance.
The Christian couple married in 2018 and lived together for about three months before marital differences arose. According to the husband, the woman frequently quarrelled, expressed unwillingness to live with him and insisted on staying at her parental home.
The woman, however, gave a different account, alleging persistent demands for a Rs 10 lakh dowry and mental torture soon after the marriage. While examining the family court’s September 2022 order, the court observed that the lower court had relied primarily on the husband’s version and had erred in holding that the wife had failed to substantiate her allegations.
Not legally justified
Noting that the couple had been living separately since 2019, the HC held that compelling the woman to resume matrimonial life was neither feasible nor legally justified. Advocate Mukesh Kumar appeared for the woman, while advocate Sarweshwari Kumari appeared for the husband.