Mere Acquittal In Cruelty Case By Wife No Ground To Grant Divorce To Husband: Delhi High Court

While rejecting a husband's plea for divorce, the Delhi High Court has observed that his mere acquittal in a criminal case filed by the wife alleging cruelty cannot be a ground for him to seek divorce.

A division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna made the observation while upholding a family court order denying divorce to a husband who alleged cruelty by the wife. His divorce petition filed under Section 13(1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, was rejected by the family court.

The parties got married in 1982 and had two children. The impugned order was passed by the family court in 1999.

The court said that marital bonds are delicate emotional human relationships and involvement of any third person could result in complete collapse of trust, faith, and tranquillity.

“Any sort of influence by a third person can just be a silent destroyer of the bond, leading to prolonged irreconcilable differences,” it said.

The court said that such relations “eventually become a ticking time bomb”, where feelings of anguish, despair, rejection and disappointment get trapped and post explosion, the shrapnel of the suppressed feelings causes injury to everyone involved, whether directly or indirectly.

Dismissing the husband's appeal, the bench said that the family court rightly concluded that it was him who was responsible for acts of cruelty towards the wife and thus, rightly rejected his divorce petition.

The court observed that the husband was involved with a woman since 1994 and left the house in 1994 and was the one who had committed the cruelty upon the wife. It added that the wife cannot be penalized for making such allegations and protesting about the relationship which had a strong basis and foundation.

“In fact, she had a justification to complain about the conduct of the appellant and to take any view otherwise would indeed be committing cruelty upon the respondent,” the court said.

It noted that the husband was acquitted in 2013 in a case registered against him as well as his sister and brother-in-law, who were discharged at the time of framing of charges. 

The court observed that the acquittal subsequent to the divorce itself cannot be a ground to say, in the peculiar facts of this case, that any kind of cruelty was committed upon him by the wife.

“Merely because there is an acquittal by a Criminal Court, does not wash away the cruelty committed by the appellant of being involved with a young girl during the subsistence of his marriage with the respondent; mere acquittal in a criminal case cannot be a ground to grant divorce,” the court said.

“While the human emotions know no bounds and rules, but definitely the human sensibilities emanating from the mind should have prevailed for an educated person like the appellant to have reigned his affections for a third person, with scant regard for the respondent who had reposed complete faith by entering into the vows of marriage with him. This is one case where S.23(1)(a) of the HMA, 1955, which provides that no person can take advantage of its own wrong, comes into play, in full force,” it said.

Title: X v. Y

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 272

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