Husband’s Groundless Allegations Against Wife Equal To Mental Cruelty: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court imposed Rs. 10,000 on a husband for raising groundless allegations against his wife including adultery and questioning the paternity of their child and called it equals to mental cruelty. The division bench of Justices KS Mudagal and KV Aravind argued that husband’s such conduct is enough reason for the wife to distance from him.

“The unsubstantiated allegations of the husband relating to adultery of wife, suspicion on the character of wife, doubting the paternity of the child compelling the wife and son to undergo DNA test amount to the petitioner self-inflicting mental cruelty to wife,” Bar and Bench quotes as Court is saying.

The couple had married in May 1999 and in 2003 the husband met the Family Court requesting divorce. For dissolution of marriage, he claimed that his wife is staying with her parents for about 15 days a month and is quarreling with him frequently. Besides, the husband suspected the wife of adultery and performing ‘black magic’. Though Family Court rejected the his allegations of adultery, it granted divorce on the ground of cruelty.

Following, the wife challenged the divorce order before the High Court. The wife’s counsel challenged the husband’s allegations and claimed that there was no evidence to prove his claims. With cross-examinations, the Court found nothing to support husband’s allegations. Further, the court has rejected husband’s claims of black magic and administering of drugs since these charges are without any basis.

When the Court found that all his allegations were mere accusations, it stated that for proposing unwarranted allegations of adultery and the same amounts of mental cruelty the husband cannot be allowed to harvest the benefits of his own faults.

“Unless the partner alleging cruelty establishes the same, irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground for granting divorce,” Bar and Bench quotes as Court is saying. Thus, the Court carried with wife’s appeal, and setting aside the divorce order it imposed a cost of Rs. 10,000 on the husband.