New Delhi: False allegations of dowry harassment or rape made by a woman against her husband’s family members amount to “extreme cruelty” that cannot be excused, the Delhi High Court has declared. The court emphasized that the foundation of any marriage is cohabitation and a conjugal relationship, and when a couple is deprived of each other’s company, the marriage cannot survive. This deprivation is considered an act of extreme cruelty.
The court’s observations came while dismissing a woman’s appeal against a family court’s decision to grant her estranged husband a divorce on grounds of cruelty. “In this case, the parties have been living separately since 2014, proving they are unable to maintain a matrimonial relationship. This separation of almost nine years is a clear example of mental cruelty, justifying the immediate end of the marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act,” stated a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna.
The bench highlighted that false complaints filed by the wife against the husband constitute mental cruelty. “Serious false allegations of dowry harassment and rape against the husband’s family members cannot be overlooked. This is an act of extreme cruelty for which there can be no condonation,” the high court said.
It was noted that the estranged couple had lived together for only about 13 months and were unable to sustain their marriage. “Being deprived of each other’s company and conjugal relationship is an extreme act of cruelty, as endorsed by the apex court,” the bench added. The woman had filed a criminal case against her husband and brother-in-law with allegations of rape and cruelty. The trial court exonerated both men of all allegations.
The high court observed that the woman had consulted a lawyer before making the complaint on which the FIR was registered. Although she has appealed against the order of acquittal, the additional sessions judge’s observations that the allegations were manipulative and false remain significant.
The couple married in November 2012 and have been living separately since February 2014. The husband claimed that the woman failed to perform household duties, frequently visited her parental home without informing him or his family, threatened suicide, and often picked fights and physically abused him.
In contrast, the woman claimed she was harassed and humiliated by her mother-in-law, physically and mentally abused, and beaten by her husband.