CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has upheld a Family Court judgment granting divorce in a case in which the wife had repeatedly made disparaging comments to her husband regarding his physical infirmity, which in the lower court’s view, constituted mental cruelty.
In the case, the marriage was solemnised on June 1, 2016, but the wife is staying separately in her parents’ house since March 25, 2018 after her constant remarks on her husband’s infirmity resulted in serious disputes between them.
Subsequently, on the husband’s petition, the Family Court, Puri, granted decree of divorce dissolving their marriage on grounds of mental cruelty by wife without any alimony. The wife filed an appeal in the high court against the judgement of the Family Court on July 10, 2023.
In her appeal, the wife claimed that she was forced to leave the matrimonial home and was residing with her parents since 2018. She further argued that the charge of cruelty was unsubstantiated and the Family Court erred in granting the divorce without awarding permanent alimony.
However, the division bench of Justices BP Routray and Chittaranjan Dash dismissed the appeal recently observing that the aspersions made by the wife on the husband amounts to mental cruelty. “On such ground, we are satisfied that the requirement in terms of Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act is attracted to grant the decree of divorce. We thus confirm the impugned judgment granting the decree of divorce between the parties dissolving their marriage,” the bench ruled.
The bench also noted, “A person is expected to give respect to another person in general and where it comes to relationship of husband and wife, it is expected that the wife should support the husband despite his physical infirmity, if any.”