The Karnataka High Court has granted a divorce to a couple, ruling that the husband’s behavior of treating his wife like a “cash cow” amounted to mental cruelty. The division bench, consisting of Justices Alok Aradhe and J M Khazi, determined that the husband’s materialistic attitude and financial dependency caused emotional harm to the wife.
Initially, a Family Court had denied the wife’s request for divorce in 2020. She then challenged this decision in the Karnataka High Court. The couple, married in 1999 in Chikkamagaluru, had a child in 2001, and the wife filed for divorce in 2017.
The wife presented evidence, including bank statements, showing that she had transferred a total of Rs 60 lakh to her husband over the years. The bench noted, “It is clear that the husband treated the wife as a cash cow, showing a materialistic attitude and no emotional connection. This behavior caused mental agony and emotional trauma, sufficient to establish a case of mental cruelty.”
The High Court criticized the Family Court’s decision, stating, “The Family Court failed to properly consider the wife’s testimony, which was not even subjected to cross-examination.” The High Court emphasized that the lower court had made a significant error in not acknowledging the wife’s perspective.
The wife further explained that her husband’s family was facing financial difficulties, leading to frequent conflicts. To help, she took a job in the UAE to pay off the family’s debts and even bought agricultural land in her husband’s name. Despite her efforts, he did not become financially independent and instead relied on her support. She also set up a salon for him in the UAE in 2012, but he returned to India in 2013.
The husband did not appear in the lower court, leading to an ex parte decision, where the court ruled that there was no proof of cruelty. However, the High Court’s decision overruled this, granting the divorce based on the evidence of financial exploitation and lack of emotional support.
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