Jahanvi Agarwal
According to a recent ruling by the Karnataka High Court, a wife is humiliating her husband by referring to him as dark-skinned will amount to cruelty.
The court was of the opinion that the wife’s decision to prevent interacting with her husband and to make up allegations of illicit relationships against him in order to hide the truth was cruel.
A bench of Justices Alok Aradhe and Anant Ramanath Hegde made the observation while allowing a husband’s plea for divorce.
The Court stated that:
“The evidence on record, from close scrutiny also leads to the conclusion that the wife used to insult the husband on the premise that he is dark. And for the same reason has moved away from the company of the husband without any cause. And to cover up this aspect, has levelled false allegations of illicit relationships against the husband. These facts certainly will constitute cruelty.”
The Bench was hearing a matter where the couple got married November 15, 2007. The couple are parents to a girl. When the child was three and a half years old, they filed for divorce.
The husband had filed an appeal before the court, contesting the Bengaluru family court’s decision to deny his request for the dissolution of his marriage according to Section 13(i)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The husband had filed for divorce in 2012 He said in his plea that the wife often demeaned him because of his skin tone.
The husband further claimed that in 2011, his wife filed a “false” complaint accusing him and his family members of cruelty in violation of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. The man went on to say that his wife had left him and was now living with her parents.
The wife denied the allegations made by the husband and stated that her husband had an extramarital affair with another woman. She also claimed that her spouse had physically abused her and that his family had not treated her well.
The Court, however, determined that there was insufficient evidence to support the wife’s allegation that her husband was conducting an illicit relationship with another lady. The Court came to the conclusion that the allegations were reckless and baseless.
The Court continued by concluding that the family court had neglected to consider the consequences of making such groundless and careless charges about the husband’s character.
The wife had filed many legal cases against the husband and his family, and the two had not spoken for several years. These factors were also taken into account by the court.
The Court observed that:
“When the question has been put to the wife in the cross-examination, whether she is willing to join the company of the husband, the wife though has stated that she is willing to join the company, has stated that she is not willing to withdraw any of the complaints filed against the husband and his family members. This fact would clearly establish that the wife is not willing to join the company of the husband and there is a big rift between the husband and the wife.”
As a result, the Court found that the allegations of cruelty made by the husband were properly substantiated. Therefore, it gave a divorce decree and accepted the husband’s request to terminate his marriage.
Case Name: ABC And XYZ
Diary Number: 8998/2017
Bench: Justices Alok Aradhe and Anant Ramanath Hegde