NEW DELHI: Accusation of unchastity or extramarital relationship is a grave assault on character,
reputation and health of a spouse against whom such serious allegations are made, the Delhi High Court has said, observing that marriage is a solemn relation and its purity must be maintained for a healthy society.
The high court said such serious allegations cause mental pain, agony, suffering and are tantamount to cruelty and the tendency of making false allegations has to be deprecated by the courts. “It has repeatedly been held that accusations of unchastity or extramarital relationship is a grave assault on character, status, reputation as well as health of the spouse against whom such allegations were made.
It causes mental pain, agony, suffering and tantamounts to cruelty. The allegations of extra-marital affairs in a relationship are serious allegations, which have to be made with all seriousness,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Dinesh Kumar Sharma said in a judgement passed on March 21.
“The tendency of making false allegations has to be deprecated by the courts,” it said. The high court’s verdict came while upholding a family court’s decision granting divorce decree in favour of a husband on the grounds of cruelty to him by his wife.