A husband’s appeal against the trial court’s decision to deny his request for a divorce and issue a judicial separation judgment was recently denied by the Calcutta High Court. The wife was accused by the husband of “mental cruelty,” mistreating in-laws, leaving him with their daughter, and stigmatizing his mother’s mental condition.
Judges Harish Tandon and Madhuresh Prasad, who made up the division bench, pointed out that there was no evidence used in the trial to show or prove the existence of mental disease. The court ruled that these allegations could not be regarded as acts of mental cruelty in and of themselves. The court also pointed out that there was no proof the husband objected to the wife living with her parents prior to bringing the lawsuit.
“We take judicial notice of the fact that many people’s families are reluctant to acknowledge that mental illness exists because they are fostering an unfounded fear of social stigma.” The Court cannot accept such misguided common beliefs to find that a claim of mental illness made by the petitioner/appellant’s mother would in and of itself amount to mental cruelty. Referencing the Apex Court’s decision in Ramchander v. Ananta published in 2015, the division bench said, “Merely failing to prove the allegation of mental illness, cannot be considered as an act of mental cruelty.”
The wife, according to the husband, started acting inappropriately soon after they were married in 1998 and would often leave without permission. He was accused of use foul language and neglecting his parents. The woman reportedly left her husband in 2003, taking their kid and possessions with her. The husband filed for divorce in 2009 under the Hindu Marriage Act’s Section 13. (HMA).
The wife retorted that they had to take care of their daughter and that there were accommodations concerns at the married residence. She said that she moved back to the married residence for holidays and celebrations, but stayed with her parents for the convenience of her work and daycare.
The husband’s statements were not supported by any evidence, and the court made it clear that stating accusations in a divorce petition was insufficient proof. It decided that the claimed mental illness charge was unfounded and could not be justified as cruelty.
The court also observed that there was insufficient evidence to support the desertion allegation and found no indication of physical mistreatment. It questioned why the spouse waited from 2003 to 2009 to file a lawsuit, saying that it was strange given that the desertion had taken place in 2003.
Because the grounds for cruelty or desertion were not proven, the appeal was denied and the trial court’s judgment for judicial separation was overturned.
