Wife’s Frequent Visits to Parents’ Home Deemed Cruelty, Says Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has ruled that a wife visiting her maternal home frequently without informing her husband constitutes cruelty and can be a valid reason for divorce. In a case involving a couple from Nagpur, the court dissolved their 20-year marriage after quashing a 2017 family court decision.
Husband’s Plea for Divorce
The couple, married since March 7, 1994, had a son and a daughter. However, the wife’s behavior became erratic over time. She often got angry over small issues and treated her mother-in-law poorly. More importantly, she would leave the house without telling her husband or anyone else. This forced him to file missing person reports at the police station several times.
In 2005-06, the wife left home for a whole year, only returning after the husband’s mother passed away. Frustrated by her behavior, the husband filed for divorce on the grounds of cruelty in the Nagpur Family Court. However, his petition was rejected in 2010.
Court’s Decision
Dissatisfied with the family court’s ruling, the husband took the case to the Bombay High Court. The judges, Justice Vasanti Naik and Justice Vinay Deshpande, pointed out that there was enough evidence to support the husband’s claim that the wife had treated him with cruelty.
The judges observed:
“Except for her denial, there’s nothing to suggest the husband’s case was false. He took prompt action to search for his wife. If the wife had been wrongly reported missing, she should have objected.”
Wife’s Mental Instability and Cruelty
Although the wife claimed to be mentally unstable during some of the incidents, the court said this did not excuse her behavior. The judges emphasized that the family court should have acknowledged that the wife’s actions amounted to cruelty, granting the husband his request for divorce.
The court ultimately ruled in favor of the husband, granting him the divorce after recognizing the wife’s behavior as cruelty.
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