RANCHI: In a significant ruling, the Jharkhand High Court has held that marriage holds special significance in Indian society and that husbands and wives should face illnesses, challenges and difficult circumstances in their married life by supporting one another.
Observing that a marriage cannot be dissolved merely on the basis of allegations or claims of unusual behaviour, the court dismissed an appeal filed by a husband seeking divorce on grounds of cruelty and his wife's alleged mental illness.
A division bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava upheld the decision of the Chatra Family Court, which had earlier rejected the husband's divorce petition.
The husband had challenged the Family Court's judgment dated September 7, 2024, which dismissed his divorce petition filed under Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. After examining the facts of the case and the available evidence, the High Court declined to interfere with the Family Court's decision.
Citing a Supreme Court judgment, the High Court observed that alleged mental illness must be substantiated through expert medical evidence. A divorce petition on this ground cannot be sustained merely on the basis of one or two instances of suspected mental disorder.
"The Hon'ble Apex Court in the aforesaid judgment has categorically held that marriage is highly revered in India and we are a nation that prides itself on the strong foundation of our marriages, come hell or high water, rain or sunshine. Life is made up of good times and bad, and the bad times can bring with them terrible illnesses and extreme hardships. The partners in a marriage must weather these storms and embrace the sunshine with equanimity.
"Any person may have bad health; this is not their fault and, most times, it is not within their control. As in the present case, the respondent was unwell and was receiving treatment for the same. The illness had its fair share of problems. Can this be a reason for the appellant to abandon her and seek dissolution of marriage?" the court observed in its order.
The couple married on January 31, 2016, and have a son. The husband, who served as a constable in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), was posted in Kota, Rajasthan.
In his petition, he alleged that his wife's behaviour had been abnormal and aggressive from the early days of their marriage. He claimed that she would laugh without reason, talk to herself and appear before relatives without appropriate clothing.
The husband further alleged that information about his wife's mental health had been concealed before the marriage. The wife, however, denied the allegations of mental illness and accused her husband of harassing her by demanding a dowry of Rs 5 lakh.
The High Court observed that neither the husband nor his witnesses had cited specific instances of physical violence, verbal abuse or harassment by the wife. The allegations, it noted, were general in nature and unsupported by evidence.
The court also questioned the claim that the wife's alleged mental illness had been concealed before the marriage, pointing out that the husband's family had known her prior to the wedding.
The High Court clarified that mental illness can constitute a ground for divorce only when its nature and severity make it unreasonable to expect the couple to continue living together. Such a condition must be established through expert medical evidence rather than isolated incidents or unusual behaviour.
