Hriday Shah
The Bombay High Court, on 3rd January 2025, ruled that filing a false criminal complaint under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) with the intent to “correct” a spouse’s behaviour constitutes cruelty under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
A Division-Bench comprising Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Advait M. Sethna noted that such actions undermine the harmony, trust, and foundational values of marriage, making it impossible for the relationship to sustain. The Court stated that subjecting the respondent-husband and his family members to false criminal proceedings, particularly for the appellant-wife’s intent to correct his behaviour, disrupts the essential values of mutual trust, respect, and affection required for a harmonious marital relationship.
The Court further observed that filing a false criminal case reflects a loss of rationality and reason, rendering it impossible to maintain the marriage. The Court opined that when a spouse resorts to false prosecution, it signifies a corruption of reasonableness and rationality, undermining the solemnity of the marriage. Such actions constitute cruelty, which is grounds for divorce.
The couple married in March 2006 but separated shortly after. The wife later filed a complaint under Section 498A, alleging cruelty by her husband. However, both the Trial and Appellate Courts dismissed the case. Despite the acquittals, the wife pursued an appeal in the High Court but failed to provide the husband with notice or necessary case details.
The Family Court, in March 2018, granted a divorce, finding the wife’s false prosecution as the primary cause for dissolving the marriage. The wife admitted to filing the complaint not to punish her husband but to alter his behaviour, which the court deemed a misuse of legal proceedings. The Bombay High Court upheld the family court’s decision, agreeing that the wife’s actions amounted to cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act. The Court found no “perversity or illegality” in the family court’s judgment.
Case Name: Vaibhavi Rajendra Chalke v. Rajendra Ganpat Chalke
Diary Number: Family Court Appeal No. 155 of 2018
Bench: Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Advait M. Sethna