The Delhi High Court has ruled that trivial irritations and loss of trust between married couples cannot be considered as mental cruelty, as it refused to uphold a lower court’s decision to grant divorce to a husband. The husband had filed for divorce, claiming mental cruelty by his wife, alleging that she did not want to live with him in their matrimonial home and instead wanted him to live with her at her parental home as a “ghar jamai”.
The couple had gotten married in 1996 and had a daughter in 1998. The husband argued that his wife would frequently leave him on various pretexts, prioritized her coaching center over their relationship, and even denied him sex. However, the court stated that while denial of sex can be seen as a form of mental cruelty if it is persistent, intentional, and prolonged, it needs to be approached with caution.
The court emphasized that such allegations cannot be proven based on vague and unspecific claims, especially when the marriage had been consummated. It concluded that the husband failed to provide evidence of any mental cruelty and that the issues between the couple were a normal result of the wear and tear of a marital relationship. The court also noted that the discord was primarily between the wife and her mother-in-law.
Additionally, the court dismissed the husband’s request for divorce based on the “irretrievable breakdown” of their marriage, stating that only the Supreme Court has the power to grant divorce on this ground. It clarified that this power is not vested in the high courts or family courts.
As a result, the court allowed the wife’s appeal and dismissed the husband’s divorce petition.
