Achi news desk-
GUWAHATI: The Delhi High Court recently held that a father’s refusal to accept the legitimacy/paternity of children and making unverified allegations of extramarital affair against the wife is an act of mental cruelty to the wife.
A division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Nina Bansal Krishna referred to the Supreme Court’s judgment and said such allegations amount to grave injury to character, honor and reputation and is the worst form of cruelty.
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“Such unsubstantiated claims, being of a quality that causes mental pain, anguish and suffering, in themselves, are enough to reach the concept of cruelty reformulated in matrimonial law,” said the court.
She therefore confirmed the decision of a family court rejecting the husband’s claim for divorce and rejected the man’s appeal to that effect.
“The learned family judge rightly pointed out that making disgusting claims about lack of modesty and indecent acquaintance with a person outside of marriage and claims of an extramarital relationship constitute a serious injury to the character, honor, reputation, status, as well as the mental health of the spouse. Such scandalous and unfounded concerns of infidelity attributed The spouse and the children are not even spared, they will reach the worst form of insult and cruelty, this is enough to disqualify the appellant from seeking a divorce. This is one case where the appellant committed a wrong himself and he cannot be granted a divorce,” said the High Court of Justice.
The husband claimed that the woman forced him to marry under false pretenses that she was pregnant after having sex with him while he was drunk. He also accused her of threatening to kill herself and having illicit relationships with several men.
After considering the case, the court rejected the claims made by the husband. It noted that the appellant, after leaving his service, did not take responsibility for the family and the wife was left not only to suffer the financial burden, but had to struggle to take care of the children and household responsibilities.
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The court ruled that the husband failed to prove any of his claims against the wife. “As detailed above, the respondent is the one who suffered cruelty and not the appellant.”
Therefore, the court dismissed the claim.
