A spouse threatening or attempting to commit suicide
amounts to 'cruelty' and is a valid ground for divorce, the Bombay High Court
has said.
Justice R M Joshi of the high court's Aurangabad
bench in the order last month upheld the decree passed by a family court
dissolving a couple's marriage.
The woman had moved the HC challenging the family
court order.
The man had alleged his wife threatened to send him
and his family to jail by committing suicide. This amounts to cruelty under
provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, he said in the plea seeking divorce
before the family court.
The HC bench in its order said the evidence
submitted by the husband and other witnesses before the family court more than
sufficiently demonstrates that the husband's contention of cruelty is proved.
The man has not only alleged that the wife used to
threaten him and his family to send them to jail by committing suicide but, in
fact, also once made an attempt to end her life, the court said.
"Such an act on the part of the spouse would
amount to such a cruelty that it becomes a ground for decree of divorce,"
the HC said.
The bench refused to quash the family court order granting
divorce, noting that no perversity is seen and hence no interference is
required.
As per the case, the couple got married in April
2009 and has a daughter.
The man, however, claimed his in-laws used to
frequently visit his house and cause interference in his marital life. He said
that in 2010, his wife left his house and went to her parents' home, refusing
to return.
The man also claimed his wife had threatened to
commit suicide and once even attempted to end her life.
He further alleged that his wife said she would file
false complaints against him and his family and send them to jail.
The woman, in her plea, said she was abused by her
husband and his father and hence left the matrimonial home.
She denied having caused any cruelty to her husband.