New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court has ruled that it was an act of mental cruelty for a woman to repeatedly leave her matrimonial home without any fault of her husband.

The bench, headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, observed that marriage “blooms” in the “fertile soil of mutual support, devotion and loyalty” while distance and abandonment render the bond irreparable.

The court made the comments while granting divorce to an estranged couple on the grounds of cruelty and desertion by the wife.

The man sought a divorce, claiming his wife was promiscuous and erratic and that she had deserted him at least seven times.

A bench also comprising Justice Neena Bansal Krishna allowed the appeal against the family court order denying divorce, It noted that there had been seven separations over a period of approximately 19 years, each lasting approximately 3 to 10 months.

Prolonged separation can lead to the irreversible breakdown of marital bonds, which amounts to emotional abuse, while terminating or depriving cohabitation and conjugal relationships is an act of extreme cruelty, the report said.

“This is a clear case where the respondent (wife) left the matrimonial home from time to time without any act or fault on the part of the appellant. The withdrawal of the respondent from time to time was an act of mental cruelty to which the appellant (husband) was subjected without any reason or justification. received such treatment,” the court said.

“We found that there was overwhelming evidence that it was the defendant who allowed the appellant to live an unstable life, with no reconciliation in the marriage and no mental peace despite spending 20 years together. This was a case of mental abuse.” The appellant suffered anguish which entitles him to divorce,” it added.

The Board further stated that the evidence showed that the wife had no intention of continuing the marriage as she had made no serious reconciliation efforts to return to the matrimonial home.

Therefore, the court held that the man had the right to divorce on the grounds of abandonment of his wife.

“Based on our detailed discussion above, we hereby come to the conclusion that the learned Family Judge erred in dismissing the divorce petition. We hereby set aside the impugned judgment dated 11.04.2022 and grant permission for cruelty and Divorce on the ground of desertion. Section 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955,” it said.

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