Mutual Trust Is Golden Thread, Gets Impaired When Unfounded & Defamatory Allegations Are Made: MP High Court Grants Divorce To Husband

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted a divorce to a husband on the grounds of cruelty and desertion, observing that mutual trust in a marital relationship is like a golden thread that gets impaired when one spouse makes unfounded and defamatory allegations against another. 

The bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat and Justice Anuradha Shukla observed;

"In marital relationship mutual trust is the golden thread that weaves affection and admiration in the life of married couples and it gets impaired when unfounded and defamatory allegations are made by one against the other". 

As per the husband, the wife after staying for only one month in matrimonial home, went to reside in her parental home. As per the wife, the husband did not visit her when she gave birth to their girl child.

Subsequently, the wife filed a case for maintenance under Section 125 CrPC, which the Magistrate Court allowed. The husband then filed a petition for restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, but withdrew it later and filed for divorce. This led to filing of the present petition.

The husband claimed that the wife's behaviour was discourteous and she had given false information about matrimonial disputes to his employers, leading to his termination from service, rendering him jobless. 

The counsel for the wife claimed that she was being harassed to the extent that leaving the matrimonial house was her only option. She further claimed that her in-laws had expressed dissatisfaction over the insufficient dowry and demanded further dowry. She also contended that the husband, meanwhile, travelled to Australia, where he solemnised a second marriage.

The High Court noted that no police report or complaint was filed by the wife regarding the demand of dowry, her harassment for such demand, and forcibly throwing her out of the matrimonial house. 

"We are alive to the fact that on making false allegations, the other spouse may be exposed to shame, ridicule, persecution and also penal liability. Therefore, heavy burden lies upon the spouse to be sensitive and careful while making any such allegations against the other spouse, but from the statements recorded before the trial Court, it can be figured out that respondent/wife was making these allegations very casually", the court emphasized. 

The bench noted that the wife failed to give details of the circumstances to show dowry harassment.

The wife claimed that she did not file a police report to prevent further damage to her matrimonial relationship. The court however observed that this explanation did not befit the circumstances of the case. It observed that the conduct of the wife in filing a maintenance petition, while not filing a police report for dowry harassment, does not explain how these petitions helped strengthen marital ties. 

The court also noted that the wife was expecting the husband to visit her place and persuade her to restore the marital relationship while ignoring the fact that she had herself left the matrimonial house. 

"Her inordinate insistence gives an impression that her inflated ego was restraining her to restore the marital ties while she herself had left the matrimonial house. This egoistic approach cannot be accommodated under the provisions of Hindu Marriage Act and in these conditions, a cold shoulder given by husband, in not requesting her to come back to the matrimonial house, would not place any guilt intent on him in the separation of parties", the court added. 

In light of the above findings, the bench held the wife had deserted her husband without reasonable cause. It was observed that the Trial Court erred in appreciating the evidence, having placed due emphasis on determining which of the parties took lesser initiative to restore the marital relationship, rather than focusing on who was actually responsible for the act of desertion. 

Noting that the wife failed to prove allegations of dowry harassment or allegations that the husband solemnised a second marriage, the court granted divorce to the husband on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. 

Case Title: AS v DK [FA-58-2020]

For Husband: Advocate Pushp Raj Singh Gaharwar

Click here to read/download the Order