The Court added that if despite objection, the husband or wife continues with such activity, then it certainly will cause mental cruelty.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected a woman’s appeal against the dissolution of her marriage, stating that her obscene conversations with other men amounted to mental cruelty toward her husband, thereby warranting divorce on the grounds of cruelty.
Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Gajendra Singh, presiding over the Indore bench of the High Court, observed: “No husband would tolerate that his wife is in conversation through mobile by way of these type of vulgar chatting. After marriage husband and wife both have freedom to have a conversation by way of mobile, chatting and other means with friends but the level of conversation should be decent and dignified , specially when it is with an opposite gender, which may not objectionable to the life partner. If despite objection husband or wife continues with such activity of activities , then certainly it causes mental cruelty.”
The couple married in December 2018 under Hindu customs. The husband (respondent), a bank manager with partial hearing impairment, alleged that his wife (appellant) mistreated his mother, often referring to her as the “mother of a deaf man” (बहरे क मां). He also claimed that his wife left the matrimonial home within 1.5 months of marriage and refused to return.
Additionally, the husband accused his wife of engaging in explicit WhatsApp conversations with former lovers, where they discussed past physical relationships. He further alleged that she had threatened to falsely implicate him in legal cases. To support his claims, he submitted WhatsApp chat transcripts, a police complaint, and a written statement from the wife’s father, who admitted that his daughter’s actions had brought shame to the family.
After reviewing the evidence, the family court ruled in the husband’s favor, granting him a divorce on grounds of mental cruelty on June 24, 2023.
In response, the wife denied all allegations, asserting that her husband had violated her right to privacy by accessing her private chats from her mobile. She further accused him of hacking her phone and fabricating evidence. Additionally, she alleged that he subjected her to domestic violence and demanded a dowry of ₹25 lakh.
However, during cross-examination, she admitted to submitting an apology at Neelganga police station on September 2, 2020. Her father, a senior advocate, did not contest his earlier statement acknowledging her frequent chats with male friends.
The High Court upheld the family court’s ruling, emphasising that “It is not expected from a wife or husband to indulge into in to the undignified or indecent conversation by way of chatting with a male or female friends as the case may be that too after marriage.”
The court further held that continuing such conduct despite objections amounts to mental cruelty, warranting the dissolution of marriage.
“The respondent has certainly make out the case by way of evidence that the appellant committed mentally cruelty upon him,” the court stated.
Conclusively, the court held that the appeal was liable to be dismissed stating that “the appellant has failed to point out any perversity in the findings recorded by the family court.”
The court upheld the family court’s decision, dismissing the wife’s appeal and affirming the divorce decree.