The Delhi High Court recently observed that if a wife continuously insists on living away from her husband’s family members without any valid reason; it can be considered an act of cruelty.
A two-judge bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed while dissolving a marriage on the ground of cruelty and desertion, after the wife also expressed her intention that she had no objection to the divorce.
The Court order stated, “the respondent has not been able to show any justifiable reason for her insistence to have separate residence, however, this is brought forth from an out-of-court settlement which the parties have entered into to live separately but thereafter, she went back to live in the matrimonial home with other family members. The only inference that can be drawn is that her insistence to live separately from the other family members was whimsical and had no justifiable reason. Such persistent insistence can only be termed as an act of cruelty.“
The Court also gave a reference of a Supreme Court’s 2016 judgment in Narendra v. K Meena, which held that “it is not a common practice or desirable culture for a Hindu son in India to get separated from the parents upon getting married at the instance of the wife.”
“In India, generally people do not subscribe to the Western thought, where upon getting married or attaining majority; the son gets separated from the family. In normal circumstances, the wife is expected to be a part of the family of the husband after her marriage. She becomes integral to and forms part of the family and husband and normally without any justifiable strong reason, she should never insist that her husband should get separated from the family and live with her separately,” the verdict of the apex court stated.
The High Court was hearing an appeal challenging a family court order rejecting the husband’s plea for divorce. The husband alleged that his wife had subjected him to cruelty and desertion.
The couple got married in November 2000 and they had two children from the marriage. In 2003, the wife left the marital home but returned after some time. However, she left her matrimonial home again in July 2007.
The family court in its order noted that no evidence was found to support the claim that the wife had left her husband’s company without a valid reason. Along with that, the family court opined that the husband failed to demonstrate the wife’s intention to end their relationship permanently.
The High Court, however, found that the wife’s insistence to live separately from the other family members was whimsical, and no justifiable reason was found in it.
It remarked that from 2007 onwards, the wife hadn’t carried out her marital responsibilities well, and the husband was denied conjugal rights.
The judges also took note of the wife’s statement before the High Court that she had no intention to cohabit with her husband as she showed no objection to the grant of divorce.
The Court also noted, “Prolonged deprivation of conjugal rights coupled with the statement of the respondent in the Court that she has no intention to join the company of the appellant and has no objection to the grant of divorce, not only reinforces that such deprivation has resulted in mental cruelty to the appellant, but also reveals that the respondent/wife has no intention whatsoever to resume the matrimonial relationship.”
As a result, the Court dissolved the marriage by allowing the husband’s appeal for a divorce.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/wife-insistence-living-separately-husband-family-without-reasons-cruelty-delhi-high-court