“Defaming Reputation of husband by leveling baseless allegations is Mental Cruelty against him for the purpose of seeking divorce” held by the Apex court.
What is mental cruelty?
According to Section 13(i) (a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a mental cruelty is broadly defined as that moment when either party causes mental pain, agony of suffering of such a magnitude that it severs the bond between the wife and the husband and as a result of which it becomes impossible for the party who has suffered to live with the other party.
Some instances illustrative of what defines mental cruelty as described by the Supreme Court of India (SC) are enumerated here.
On consideration of complete matrimonial life of the parties, acute mental pain, agony and suffering as would not make it possible for the parties to live with each other, could come within the broad parameters of mental cruelty;
Mere coldness or lack of affection cannot amount to cruelty however frequent rudeness of language, petulance of manner, indifference and neglect may reach such a degree that it makes the married life for the other spouse absolutely intolerable;
Mental cruelty is a state of mind – The feeling of deep anguish, disappointment, frustration in one spouse caused by the conduct of the other over a long period of time may lead to mental cruelty;
An unrelenting course of abusive and humiliating treatment calculated to torture, discommode or render miserable the life of one spouse;
Sustained unjustifiable conduct and behaviour of one spouse actually affecting physical and mental health of the other spouse – The treatment complained of and the resultant danger or apprehension must be very grave, substantial and weighty;
Sustained reprehensible conduct, studied neglect, indifference or total departure from the normal standard of conjugal kindness causing injury to mental health or deriving sadistic pleasure can also amount to mental cruelty;
The conduct must be much more than jealousy, selfishness, possessiveness, which causes unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Emotional upset may not be a valid ground for granting a divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty;
The married life should be reviewed as a whole and a few isolated instances over a period of years will not amount to cruelty – The ill-conduct must be persistent for a fairly lengthy period, where the relationship has deteriorated to an extent that because of the acts and behaviour of a spouse, the wronged party finds it extremely difficult to live with the other party any longer. This may amount to mental cruelty;
If a husband submits himself for an operation of sterilization without medical reasons and without the consent or knowledge of his wife and similarly, if the wife undergoes vasectomy or abortion without medical reason or without the consent or knowledge of her husband, such an act of the spouse may lead to mental cruelty;
Unilateral decision of refusal to have intercourse for considerable periods of time without there being any physical incapacity or valid reason may amount to mental cruelty;
Unilateral decisions made by either husband or wife after marriage to not have child from the marriage may amount to cruelty;
In JoydeepMajumdar Vs BhartiJaiswalMajumdar in civil appeal Nos. 3786-3787 of 2020, delivered on 26 February 2021, the Supreme Court three judge bench case, Justice Hrishikesh Roy for himself, Justice Sanjay KishanKaul and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari observed:
“Wife leveling allegations which affects career and reputation of husband is mental cruelty against him for the purpose of seeking divorce.”
An appeal was heard by the Apex court on behalf of husband, an Army officer, who had assailed the judgement of Uttarakhand High Court which overruled the decision of Family Court wherein it was found that the respondent had subjected the appellant to mental cruelty with her complaints to the Army and other authorities. Consequently, the Family Court allowed the appellant\’s suit for dissolution of marriage.
The aggrieved party, the wife, then filed respective First Appeal before the Uttarakhand High Court. On consideration of the pleadings of the husband in divorce petition and the issues framed by the trial Court, the High Court noted that cruelty is the core issue in the dispute. The Court then proceeded to examine whether the wife with her complaints to various authorities including the Army\’s top brass, had treated the appellant with cruelty to justify his plea for dissolution of marriage. According to the Court, the conduct of the parties against each other would at best be squabbles of ordinary middle class married life. Accordingly, the High Court set aside the decree for dissolution of marriage and allowed the respondent\’s suit for restitution of conjugal rights, under the impugned judgment.
The Apex Court overruled the Judgment of Uttarakhand High Court observing:
“The materials in the present case reveal that the respondent had made several defamatory complaints to the appellant\’s superiors in the Army for which, a Court of inquiry was held by the Army authorities against the appellant. Primarily for those, the appellant\’s career progress got affected. The Respondent was also making complaints to other authorities, such as, the State Commission for Women and has posted defamatory materials on other platforms. The net outcome of above is that the appellant\’s career and reputation had suffered.”
“For considering dissolution of marriage at the instance of a spouse who allege mental cruelty, the result of such mental cruelty must be such that it is not possible to continue with the matrimonial relationship. In other words, the wronged party cannot be expected to condone such conduct and continue to live with his/her spouse. The degree of tolerance will vary from one couple to another and the Court will have to bear in mind the background, the level of education and also the status of the parties, in order to determine whether the cruelty alleged is sufficient to justify dissolution of marriage, at the instance of the wronged party.
Mental cruelty as ground for divorce
When it was first passed, the Hindu Marriage Act did not have ‘cruelty’ as a ground for divorce. It was after an amendment in 1976 that this basis became available for seeking both divorce and judicial separation.Even before the 1976 amendment, the Supreme Court had examined the concept of legal cruelty in Dastane v Dastane (1975). In that case, the court held that the wife threatening she would end her life, and verbally abusing the husband and his father, among other acts, amounted to mental cruelty, and granted divorce to the husband.
Conclusion
The Apex court in the aforementioned case, has recognized baseless allegation of the wife against the husband as Mental Cruelty which can be used as a ground for seeking divorce. It has often seen that wild, baseless, frivolous and concocted allegations are hurled by wife against husband in their marital discord which are not only defaming and but also breeding mental agony and pain in the mind of husband. The damage of reputation by such allegations is beyond redemption which leads to Mental Cruelty of husband.The Apex court has finally recognized the diabolic impact of the practice of hurling false, baseless and frivolous allegations by wife against the husband on the mind of husband.
