Jharkhand High Court grants divorce to wife humiliated by husband over pre-marriage photos with ex-boyfriend

The Jharkhand High Court recently granted a divorce to a woman who was constantly humiliated by her husband and in-laws over certain photographs showing her with a partner she was in a relationship with before her marriage.

A Division Bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai found that the woman's husband had transferred the “objectionable” photographs from her Google Drive and then shared them with his family members.

“By showing those objectionable photographs to his family members by the respondent-husband and on the basis of that she was being humiliated by the family members of the respondent-husband, which is nothing but the character assassination of the wife by her own husband,” the Court opined.

It concluded that mental agony was caused to the wife to such an extent that it was impossible for her to live with the husband, since the thread of trust had already been broken.

“Relationship of wife and husband is based on the trust and respect to have upon each other and if it is broken it is non-repairable as the trust is the foundation of marriage. Marriage is a relationship built on mutual trust, companionship and shared experiences,” the Bench said.

The Court passed the ruling on an appeal filed by a 32-year-old woman who had married in 2020. She had earlier approached a family court for a divorce. However, her plea was dismissed in 2023.

According to the case details, a day after their marriage, the woman's husband checked her mobile phone while she was sleeping. This led him to find the “objectionable photographs."

The husband then allegedly transferred the photos to his phone and started threatening to put the same on social media. She also alleged that she was tortured by him.

On the other hand, the husband denied the allegations and said that he was ready to accept her as his wife even after knowing about her past relationship. He also said that she had never disclosed her previous relationship to him.

The Court found there was no concrete evidence to prove the woman's allegations of physical assault by the husband. However, it noted that cruelty can be psychological as well.  

“On the basis of the aforesaid settled position of law, it is considered view of this Court that in the case at hand, it is mental cruelty that has been meted out to the appellant-wife so that it is next to impossible to live together with her respondent/ husband,” the Court ruled.

Therefore, the Court set aside the family court decision denying divorce to the woman on the ground of cruelty under Section 13(1) (i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act.

“Accordingly, the instant appeal stands allowed,” it ordered and granted her a divorce.

Advocate Sanjay Prasad represented the wife.

Advocates Abhijeet Kr Singh, Shashank Kumar and Harsh Chandra represented the husband.