Wife Assaulted By Husband Over Doubts On Child's Paternity Due To Skin Complexion, Gauhati High Court Grants Separation

The Gauhati High Court, on Wednesday (June 4), allowed a woman to live separately from her husband, acknowledging her right to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC. The court observed that the wife had sufficient reasons to stay away from her husband, who had unfounded suspicions over their child's fair complexion and subjected her to physical abuse. 

The bench of Justice Parthivjyoti Saika observed, "The petitioner and the respondent are dark-complexioned people. But their child was fair-complexioned. That is the reason why the dispute between the wife and the husband arose. The husband started to physically harass the wife and drove her out of the matrimonial house along with the child". 

The case stemmed from an order passed by the Trial Court granting maintenance of INR 2,500 for the wife and INR 500 for the child. The husband then approached the Sessions Court challenging the maintenance order. The Sessions Court, in its order, upheld the child's right to maintenance but denied the same to the wife. Aggrieved, the wife approached the High Court seeking relief against the order of the appellate court. 

The Sessions Court held that the wife's evidence was inconsistent and contradicted her own pleadings, rendering her testimony unreliable. The Sessions Court criticized the order of the trial court for relying on the assumption that a woman would not leave her matrimonial home without reason. The Sessions Court opined that such an assumption was not legally permissible and would undermine the need for proper evidence in maintenance cases. 

The wife, represented by Advocate AK Hussain, argued that Section 125 CrPC was a piece of social legislation intended to protect married women and should not be subjected to strict evidentiary standards akin to civil suits. It was contended that the trial court had correctly appreciated the facts and circumstances of the case. 

The court noted that the couple had a dark-skinned complexion but their child was fair-skinned. This discrepancy led the husband to suspect the child's parentage, which in turn caused repeated instances of physical abuse. This ultimately led to the wife and child leaving the matrimonial house. The bench deemed the abuse and the suspicion to be a valid and sufficient reason for the wife to live separately. Accordingly, the court set aside the order of the Sessions Court and upheld the order of the Trial Court granting maintenance to the wife. 

For Petitoner: Advocates A K Hussain, A Haque, B Hussain and S Hazarika

For Respondent: Advocates S Alom, S Alam and A Begum

Case Title: Mustt. Lozzatan Begum v Shahidul Islam (2025:GAU-AS:7253)

Click Here To Read The Order