Delhi High Court Grants Divorce To Indian Chef On Grounds Of Cruelty By Wife

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted divorce to an Indian Chef from his wife on the grounds of cruelty by her.

A division bench comprising of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that the conduct of the wife towards him has been such that it is devoid of dignity and empathy towards him.

“When such is the nature of one spouse towards the other, it brings disgrace to the very essence of marriage and there exist no possible reason as to why he should be compelled to live while enduring the agony of living together,” the court said.

It added that the wife's conduct comes into the ambit of Section 13 (1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Family Court gravely erred in disallowing the divorce petition preferred by the husband.

The court allowed husband's appeal against the family court order. The parties got married in 2008 but have been living apart since May, 2015, and the son is in the custody of the wife.

The bench noted that even after separation, the husband has been providing monetary support for education and well-being of the son as well as for maintaining the household.

Perusing the WhatsApp messages exchanged between the parties, the court observed that the husband has not been allowed to meet or talk to his son and that despite his repeated requests, the wife has evaded it on one pretext or the other, while at simultaneously demanding payments from him.

“Such deprivation of company of their son with the malicious intent to create a rift between the father and child, no doubt will put any parent to distress,” the court said.

It noted that despite the husband and his family were badly hurt and suffered loss of respect in the society, yet he made further efforts to stay with the wife to save his matrimonial life.

The court also observed that screaming high and using filthy language, even if not directly abusing the spouse, is too harsh to expect for the spouse at the receiving end to accept it.

“This court is of the opinion that though there is no standard set for what amounts to a reasonable reaction to provocations in marital life, such acts of causing physical harm to a person is a reflection of one‟s inability to be in control of their temperaments and amounts to cruelty. It is observed in the said evidence that despite requests by the appellant (husband) to not continue the fight infront of their son, the respondent (wife) remained unbothered by it and acted in the heat of the moment. This kind of conduct would no doubt subject a spouse to grave cruelty,” the court said.

Furthermore, the court noted that within 2 years of marriage, the husband established himself as a Celebrity Chef which was a reflection of his hard work and determination which would not have been possible had he been one who was dependent on his spouse or in-laws for his necessities.

“Considering the aforesaid facts, it is only prudent to observe that these are mere allegations made by the respondent to disrepute the appellant in the eyes of the Court and such unsubstantiated claims have the effect on one's reputation and therefore, amounts to cruelty,” the court said.

It added though marital discords are an inevitable part and parcel of every marriage, however, when such conflicts take the form of disrespect and inconsideration towards their spouse, the marriage itself loses its sanctity.

Counsel for Appellant: Ms.Geeta Luthra, Senior Advocate with Ms.Kamakshi Gupta, Ms.Apoorva Maheshwari & Ms.Anushka Khaitan, Advocates Counsel for Respondent: Mr.Sunil Mittal, Senior Advocate with Ms.Zeba Khair & Ms.Ananya Garg, Advs

Title: X v. Y

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 391