Wife Turning Child Against Husband Amounts To Cruelty To Men, Says Madhya Pradesh High Court (Photo by James X on Unsplash)
While granting divorce to husband, the Madhya Pradesh High Court stated that the mother tutoring the child against her father amounts to cruelty to men. The Court was hearing a custody petition filed by the husband in the family court at Jabalpur to get back his minor daughter from his wife. After the Jabalpur family Court dismissed the petition, the husband had approached the High Court, The wife had also filed several cases against the man, and his family members while preventing him from visiting his daughter.
While granting divorce, the division bench comprising of Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vinay Saraf however did not make any remark on the complaint filed by the woman. Notably, it opined that the wife crossed all the barrios in levelling allegations against the husband and his family members.
The High Court noted that the woman did not allow the man to meet their daughter even though the family court permitted the man to meet his child. The court noted the recent observations made by the Delhi High Court and Kerala High Court on how the manipulation of children to turn against their parents amounts to mental cruelty.
“In view of the above, pronouncement of Delhi and Kerala High Courts and in the facts and circumstances of the present case, it can be safely observed that in the present case also wife has tried to keep away husband from minor daughter and tutored her to speak against her own father. This is a serious matter and definitely caused mental cruelty to husband,” the bench noted.
The husband had filed a divorce petition noting mental cruelty. The court found that the wife left the husband a few months after the marriage. Though the husband and his family expected her to come back, she did not return and both since then stayed separately. The conduct of the woman the Court observed caused mental cruelty to the husband. Considering this, the court allowed the appeal of the husband for divorce.
However, the cases filed by the wife against the husband are pending and the court did not comment on them. “…marriage has irretrievably broken down due to multiple FIRs and complaints lodged by the wife. Dissolution of marriage will relieve both sides of pain and anguish…Even if this court refuses the decree of divorce to the appellant-husband, there is hardly any chance of the respondent-wife leading a happy life with the appellant-husband because a lot of bitterness created by the conduct of respondent-wife, which amounts to cruelty,” the court said while granting a divorce.
