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Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently upheld a divorce decree and the finding of a family court that the initiation of frivolous proceedings against the husband fell squarely within the definition of mental cruelty. The divorce was granted on the husband’s plea on the grounds of cruelty committed on him by his wife. The HC observed that the wife never realised the effect of him and his parents being “dragged into a false prosecution of serious offences” of cruelty.
The wife filed an appeal against the divorce granted by a family court in 2018. The HC dismissed her appeal, holding it had no merits. The HC did not stay the divorce decree in the interim, and the husband already remarried while the appeal was pending.
“The social stigma and unwarranted harassment caused to the husband and his family members is another significant aspect of the sufferings, and the family court was correct when it held that a strong case for divorce on the ground of cruelty was made out,” the division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna held on Jan 3.
The family court said the wife filed criminal complaints of cruelty against the husband not to punish him but so that “he should change his behaviour”. The family court wondered who advised her “such therapy, by abusing the process of law”.
The judgment authored by Justice Kulkarni analysed the family court decision and, after perusing the criminal court decisions as well, said, “As clearly seen, the appellant (wife) lodged a false prosecution against the respondent (husband), which the criminal court has concurrently affirmed. This would certainly amount to cruelty in terms of Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.”
The HC observed that the husband and family being subjected to false criminal proceedings and the ordeal of such serious charges being faced by them, “that too for the reason that the wife wanted to correct the behaviour of the husband, would find no place in the harmonious relations of mutual trust, respect and affection, a married couple would normally maintain.”
The HC said, “Also, once the mind of a spouse is corrupted to resort to a false prosecution against a spouse, it is certain that the spouse has lost all reasonableness and rationality to maintain the solemnity of the marriage.”
The HC referred to judgments of the Supreme Court that also noted how false prosecutions amount to mental cruelty and said the family court order cannot be held to be perverse, much less no illegality can be found in any of its observations.
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