Marathi remarks like "Tula akkal nahi, tu vedi ahes" made by husband to wife not abuse unless context provided: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently observed that common utterances in Marathi like "तुला अक्कल नाही, तू वेडी आहेस" (you have no sense, you are crazy) cannot be considered as abusive or filthy unless the context of such utterances was to humiliate or insult a person..A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Sharmila Deshmukh said that when parties speak Marathi at home, such utterances are common and could not be considered abusive unless it is shown that the same was done with the intention to humiliate or insult.Hence, the Court said that a wife filing a case against the husband on the ground that he abused her using such words but without providing any evidence to substantiate the context, would amount to cruelty."The parties are Maharashtrians and irrespective of any strata of society to which the parties belong, these are common utterances in Marathi language and cannot be considered as abuse in a filthy language unless the context in which the utterances were made demonstrates that the same was for the purpose of humiliating and insulting the person," the court said.The court noted that the wife had not given supporting details of the incidents during which such utterances were made.Thus, simply mouthing these words could not mean that she was abused in filthy language, the bench held.The judgment was passed on an appeal by the husband against a family court order declining divorce to him. .The wife's argument was that the husband abused her mentally and physically.She alleged that he said to her "तुला अक्कल नाही, तू वेडी आहेस" (you have no sense, you are crazy), which amounted to abuse in filthy language.Further, he used to come late at night and shout at her if she asked to go for an outing, she claimed.The husband on the other hand claimed that the conduct of his wife was such that it amounted to cruelty. He also highlighted the criminal case filed by the wife against him making unsubstantiated allegations.By filing such a case, the woman lowered his and his family's reputation in society by making baseless allegations and the same amounted to cruelty, it was alleged..The High Court noted that the wife lodged the first information report (FIR) after the stage of examination of evidence in the divorce case before the family court.The High Court opined that examination of the FIR indicated that the wife had falsely implicated the husband and that the contents of the FIR never reflected in her evidence during the trial. "The irresponsible and false baseless allegations made by the wife and failing to justify the same by evidence by itself would amount to cruelty and would entitle the husband to the dissolution of the marriage," the Court concluded..The court also reasoned that the allegations of illicit relationship, dowry demands, filthy abuse and assault to the extent of describing the husband and his parents as mean-minded and miserable persons, without being able to substantiate the allegations, would amount to cruelty considering they belonged to an affluent family.Hence, it allowed the appeal by the husband and granted him divorce."The allegations of illicit relationship and the lodging of FIR making reckless and false allegations have subjected the husband to serious traumatic experience which can safely be termed as 'cruelty' coming within the purview of Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act. Therefore, we hold that he is entitled to the decree for dissolution of marriage under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act" the Court held. .Advocates Laxmikant M Shukla with Heena Lambate appeared for the husband.Advocates Shreesh Oak briefed by SC Legal appeared for the wife.[Read Judgment]