KOCHI: A spouse refusing to grant divorce on mutual consent in a failed marriage can be considered as cruelty, a division bench of Justice A Muhamed Mustaque held on February 4 after considering separate appeals filed by a couple.
In the judgment, the court said, \”If one of the spouses is refusing to accord divorce on mutual consent after having convinced of the fact that the marriage failed, it is nothing but cruelty to spite the other spouse. No one can force another to continue in a legal tie and relationship if the relationship deteriorated beyond repair.\”
At the HC the wife had challenged Nedumangad family court granting divorce to the husband on the ground of cruelty while the husband had sought permanent custody of their five-year-old son.
The couple got married in April 2015 and the husband was teaching in an engineering college. The wife was a post-graduate dental student at Kannur then. They failed to develop an emotional bond, which the court said could be due to their staying apart initially.
Seeking divorce, the husband alleged that the wife was quarrelsome, did not accept his mother and sister and was obsessive. The wife alleged that the husband failed to offer care and emotional support, including during her studies and pregnancy. The court said it is sure that the parties were leading an incompatible life from the beginning. A reconciliation attempted directed by the court also failed.
Elaborating on the need for the court\’s intervention, the bench said, \”If the conduct and character of one party causes misery and agony to the other…, the element of cruelty… would surface, justifying grant of divorce. If the parties cannot mend their ways, the law cannot remain oblivious to those who suffer in that relationship. In any matrimonial relationship, spouses may have a different outlook on the marriage based on faith, perceptions, outlook, attitudes, social ethos, etc. Fearing divorce is repugnant to his or her notion… Human problem requires resolution consistent with the notion of justice.\”
Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/denying-divorce-amounts-to-cruelty-kerala-high-court/articleshow/89629331.cms