Wife’s Inability to Cook or Seeking Employer’s Help Is Not Cruelty: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has clarified that a wife not knowing how to cook or asking her husband’s employer to help fix their marriage cannot be considered as cruelty under the law.
The decision came in a case where a husband challenged a court order that granted restitution of conjugal rights to his wife. He also appealed against the rejection of his divorce petition, claiming that their marriage was emotionally dead, and they had lived apart for over 10 years.
However, the Court cited the legal precedent in Uthara v. Sivapriyan (2022), stating that one person cannot declare a marriage over just because they have been living separately. Divorce must be based on legal grounds, not just emotional separation.
The husband accused his wife of:
- Insulting and mistreating him in front of relatives
- Sending emails to his employer with the intent to damage his job
- Filing complaints in the Vanitha Cell and Magistrate Court
- Not knowing how to cook
The wife denied these accusations. She explained that she only wrote to his employer because she noticed sudden changes in his behavior and wanted help understanding what was wrong. She said she was forced to live separately since 2013 as her husband didn’t allow her to return to their home.
The Court examined the email sent to the husband’s employer and said it showed a desperate wife trying to save her marriage. She suspected her husband was going through mental health issues, which he later admitted in court, confirming he had visited psychiatrists in both the UAE and Kerala.
The Court ruled that:
- The email was not meant to harm, but to bring her husband back into the marriage.
- Filing legal complaints is the wife’s right, especially if she was denied shelter or support.
- Not knowing how to cook is not cruelty.
Finally, the Court decided that there was no valid reason to interfere with the earlier rulings. It dismissed the husband’s appeal for divorce and upheld the wife’s right to restore their marriage.
Be a part our social media community:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndianMan.in?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/indianman.in?igsh=MWZ2N3N0ZmpwM3l3cw==
