Divorce Law | Allegations Of Illicit Relationship Of Spouse Must Be Clearly Stated In Pleadings: Allahabad High Court

In a recent judgment, the Allahabad High Court has held that allegations of illicit relationship of a spouse cannot be left to the imagination of the court. Such allegations must be clearly made.

While granting a decree of judicial separation under Section 13A of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Court held,

“To infer existence of illicit relationship, it is not to be left to the imagination of the Court what the parties may have intended to say by way of fact allegation. The allegation of one party having illicit relationship with another must be clear.”

The bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Shiv Shanker Prasad observed that small disputes or incidents between parties to a marriage cannot be treated as cruelty. If the Courts consider such incidents as ingredients of cruelty, many marriages would be exposed to the threat of dissolution.

“If courts were to recognize and act on small disputes or occurrences and read them as completion of ingredients of cruelty, many marriages where parties may not be enjoying best relations may stand exposed to dissolution without any real cruelty being committed.”

Factual Background

The parties got married in 2013. Both parties blamed each other for non-consummation of their marriage. The parties cohabited till July 2014 after that they did not live together for a single day. The appellant/ plaintiff husband sought divorce alleging cruelty on grounds that the respondent-wife refused to consummate the marriage.

It was alleged that wife misbehaved with the parents of the appellant and also assaulted them. Further, allegations were made that she had instigated a mob to chase and assault the appellant accusing him to be a thief. She had also lodged a criminal case alleging demand of dowry. The respondent-wife also alleged that the appellant-husband had illicit relationship with his sister-in-law (bhabhi).

Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Court No.2, Ghaziabad observed that though it was the case of the parties that the marriage between them was consummated, blame could not be placed on the respondent. It was also observed that the respondent-wife had tried to meet the appellant-husband, however, she was prevented from meeting him. An incident regarding the mob chasing the appellant-husband at the behest of respondent-wife was disputed.

The Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Court No.2, Ghaziabad dismissed divorce case proceeding instituted by the Appellant, under section 13 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The same was challenged before the High Court.

Observations by the High Court

The Court observed that the mob on its own could not have chased the appellant-husband and his family on their own and handed them to police without any incident.

“Suffice to note that such conduct may not be a normal conduct within the members of family. To instigate a mob on a false allegation only for the purposes of causing embarrassment may never be accepted as normal conduct. At the same time, no formal arrest was made and no F.I.R. was lodged on such false allegation. Thus, it may not complete the ingredients of cruelty that are necessary to be established for the purposes of grant of decree of divorce.”

The Court observed that if small incidents and disputes are treated as ingredients of cruelty, many marriages in which relations are not at their best may stand dissolved.

“Cruelty is not defined under the Act yet it has to be an act serious enough as may not allow a prudent person an opportunity or conviction to resolve matrimonial discord being faced by them or as may not burden them to continue to live in matrimony. Such acts, by very nature must included things or occurrences of very serious nature having deleterious effect on the relationship such as may be seen to prevent the parties to seek reconciliation,” held the Court.

The Court held that according to the limited evidence led before the Court below, the allegations of cruelty levelled by the respondent-wife appear to be false. Accordingly, they cannot be treated as ingredients of cruelty.

The Court held that illicit relationship between the appellant-husband and his sister-in-law cannot be inferred by the fact that he used to sleep in the room in which his sister-in-law used to sleep with her kids. The Court held that allegation of illicit relationship must be clearly made and not be left to the imagination of the Court.

The Court held that the Court below ought to have considered granting alternate relief under Section 13A of the Act which provides for a decree of judicial separation considering that the parties had neither cohabited nor consummated their marriage for 9 years. The Court held that in absence of application for restitution of conjugal rights, the Court below ought to have granted a decree of judicial separation.

Accordingly, the Court granted a decree of judicial separation to the appellant-husband.

Case Title: Rohit Chaturvedi vs. Smt Neha Chaturvedi 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 456 [FIRST APPEAL No. - 295 of 2020]

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 456

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