Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Section 13(1)(ia)—Cruelty—Concept of—Any act of damage to reputation, social standing or work prospects by one spouse to the other would fall within the term “cruelty”—Depriving a spouse from being on Facebook and Instagram may also amount to cruelty.
[Para 11]
Section 13(1)(ia)—Divorce on ground of cruelty—Dismissal of petition filed by husband—Appeal—Respondent has initiated 7 proceedings against the appellant including 5 criminal cases under Section 498A of the IPC and the Dowry Prohibition Act—Respondent was in the habit of lodging criminal complaints before the Police Station of petty issues which made a mockery of the law—Criminal case was finally dismissed and appellant was acquitted of the charges—Acquittal casts a shadow on the truth of the allegations made by the respondent—Appellant lost his job as teacher and is unable to find a new job for reason of the criminal cases registered against him—Appellant is entitled to decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty and of the marriage having broken downy beyond repair—Since the very foundation of the marriage has fallen apart, the Court cannot force the parties to reconcile and live together as husband and wife—Impugned order set aside—Appeal allowed.
[Paras 20 to 23 & 26]
Matrimonial
Obliteration of marital ties—Role of court—Obliteration of marital ties is entirely for the persons in the marriage and upon them to assess and resolve in the best way they think fit—Court has a limited role in the whole affair and should not act as an executioner (in the sense of a hangman) or a counselor to compel the parties to continue living as wife and husband, particularly where the meeting of minds between them has irrevocably ended—It is certainly not the court’s work to ferret out faultlines in the evidence in negation of cruelty in an altruistic zeal for preserving the marriage—This kind of exercise is unwarranted and pointless.
[Para 17]
Condonation and forgiveness means restoration of the offending souse to the same position as he/she was before the offence was committed—Evidence must also point to this direction—Forgiveness would be a misnomer in a case where the wife stays with the husband for two months and then leaves the matrimonial home and lodges an FIR against the husband and his family members for offences punishable under Section 498A of IPC and Dowry Prohibition Act.
[Para 18]