Mother igniting animosity in children towards father is cruelty, valid ground for divorce: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently observed that a woman trying to turn her children against their father and making them write complaints against the father is a clear case of parental alienation and an act of grave mental cruelty towards the father/ husband entitling him to divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act..A division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said that differences between husband and wife may arise due to myriad reasons but this does not justify involving minor children in the matrimonial dispute.“Taking a small daughter along with her with a specific design to the house of the appellant [husband] and then to make allegations of adultery and call the Police, is an act of ruining the psyche of a child and turning her against her father. A person may be a bad husband but that does not lead to the necessary conclusion of he being a bad father. The act of the respondent in trying to turn the children against their father and even making her write a complaint against her father, is a clear case of parental alienation, which in itself is an act of grave mental cruelty,” the Court said.Igniting animosity in the child towards her father is not just cruelty to the father but also gross inhumanity to the child, the Court underlined.“Howsoever abysmal the differences may be between the spouses, but in no realm can the act of the aggrieved spouse of igniting animosity and hostility in the minor child in an attempt to use the child as a weapon to get even with their spouse, could be justifiable. Such vindictiveness aimed to erode a father-daughter relationship is not only an act of extreme cruelty to the father but also gross inhumanity to the child,” the bench said. .It made the observations while allowing an appeal filed by a man against the trial court order denying him divorce from his wife.It was stated the couple got married in the year 1998 but the woman left the matrimonial home in 1999. While the husband was an engineer in the Indian Army, the wife was a PhD holder and was working as a lecturer. They had two daughters.Both sides made contesting claims against each other.The husband alleged that in the year 2012, the wife came to his house along with their eight-year-old daughter while his cousin and niece were there and made allegations of adultery against him.However, the wife argued she had the photograph and phone number of the woman with whom the husband was in an adulterous relationship..The Court considered the case and noted that the wife’s complaint was supported by the complaint of their minor daughter as well.It took a critical view of the woman’s conduct and said that this was a clear case of parental alienation where the wife has involved the children in her differences with her husband.“We thus, conclude that the evidence on record proved that there is no chance of reconciliation between the parties and such long separation peppered which false allegations, Police reports and criminal complaints and further aggravated by parental alienation, can only be termed as acts of mental cruelty. This dead relationship has become infested with acrimony, irreconcilable differences and protracted litigations; any insistence to continue this relationship would only be perpetuating further cruelty upon both the parties,” the bench said.It, therefore, allowed the husband’s plea and granted divorce. "We, hereby conclude that the appellant has been able to prove cruelty at the hands of the respondent. We hereby set-aside the impugned Judgment dated 19.10.2018 and grant divorce on the ground of cruelty under Section 13 (i) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.".Advocates Chandan Kumar Mandal, GK Chauhan and Rajeev Kumar Tomar appeared for the husband. The wife was represented by advocate Mukesh Kumar. .[Read Judgment]