Karnataka High Court: Wife’s Demand for Separate House Not Cruelty for Divorce
The Karnataka High Court recently said that a wife asking for a separate house or often leaving the marital home to stay with her parents does not count as cruelty for divorce purposes.
A division bench of Justices Alok Aradhe and S. Vishwajith Shetty explained that only the Supreme Court can grant a divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage under Article 142 of the Constitution, not any other court.
In this case, the couple married in 2002 under Hindu rites. The husband went to the Family Court in Bangalore asking for divorce, saying his wife demanded a separate house right after marriage. He lived with his widowed mother and younger brother, whom he needed to care for, so he refused her demand.
He also said the wife often argued with his family for no reason and left the matrimonial house without informing anyone, going to her sister’s or mother’s home. This made his life difficult. In January 2007, she left with their child and never returned.
The wife had also filed a criminal case against the husband and his relatives under Sections 498-A, 323, 504, 506 IPC and the Dowry Prohibition Act, but they were all acquitted.
The husband claimed the wife didn’t want to live with him or fulfill her marital duties and said there was no chance of reconciliation, so he asked for divorce on cruelty and desertion grounds.
The wife denied all accusations and said the Family Court wrongly granted divorce because the husband couldn’t prove cruelty or desertion. She claimed the husband rejected her after dowry issues and immediately filed for divorce without trying to reconcile.
The husband said she left without reason and falsely accused him to harass the family.
The court noted the Magistrate acquitted the husband and relatives since there was not enough proof of guilt. So, it cannot be said the wife filed a false complaint.
The court added: “Simply filing a criminal case does not amount to cruelty. For Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, cruelty means willful and unreasonable behavior that risks life, health, or mental safety, or causes reasonable fear of such danger.”
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