Allegations Of Wife Quarreling With Husband Not Sufficient To Show Acute Mental Agony: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that allegations of wife quarreling with the husband are not sufficient to show acute mental agony suffered by him so as to seek divorce on grounds of cruelty.

Observing that the allegations made by the husband against the wife inflicting cruelty on him were vague in nature, the bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla held,

“The allegations that she was quarreling with him without any reason, in the considered view of this Court, are not sufficient to form any opinion that the appellant/husband is undergoing acute mental pain, agony, suffering, disappointment and frustration and therefore it is not possible for him to live in the company of the respondent/wife.”

Factual Background

Parties were married in 2015 in a Temple in Ayodhya and registered their marriage in 2016. While filing for divorce in 2016, Appellant-husband pleaded that respondent-wife had forbidden him from visiting his family members and supporting his parents and brother. Allegations regarding physical assault were also made against the wife. It was pleaded that the respondent had filed various complaints against the appellant including in his workplace.

In response, the respondent-wife pleaded that the parties had lived together for several years and the appellant with the promise of marriage had intercourse with her. An illicit relationship of the husband was also brought to the notice of the Court below.

Noting that the parties had a cordial relationship from 2010-2016, the Family Court held that it was not possible to know when cruelty was inflicted by the wife on the husband. Thus, the petition for divorce was dismissed.

Challenging the dismissal, the appellant-husband pleaded that the Family Court had ignored the evidence regarding cruelty led by him. It was argued that the fact of mental cruelty was proved by the false complaints lodged by the wife. Further, it was argued that the Family Court had ignored the fact that the wife used to quarrel with him in front of friends/ hospital staff.

High Court Verdict

The Court relied on Samar Ghosh vs. Jaya Ghosh, where the Supreme Court while elaborating on what constitutes mental cruelty, inter alia, held that it cannot be based on a single incident or some incidents over years but must be based on a series of persistent incidents during the span of the relationship where the one partner finds it difficult to live with the other.

Noting that no specific instances could be brought on record by the appellant despite having lived with the wife for 6 years, the Court observed that the allegations regarding cruelty were “nothing but the normal wear and tear in married life.”

The Court held that the allegations made by the husband were general and vague in nature and were not sufficient for the Court to grant a decree of divorce on grounds of mental cruelty. It was further held that frivolous complaints lodged by the wife and the insults hurled by her in front of family/ friends/ public were not sufficient grounds for grant of divorce.

The Court also took note of the fact that the case under the Domestic Violence Act had been allowed in favour of the wife and certain maintenance had been awarded to her.

Holding that the Family Court had rightly refused to grant a decree of divorce as the husband had failed to prove his case, the Court dismissed the appeal.

Case Title: Dr. Bagish Kumar Mishra v. Rinki Mishra [FIRST APPEAL No. - 55 of 2021]

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