Wife's demand to stay separately from husband's family without reason is cruelty: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that a wife's demand for a separate residence away from the husband's family, without sufficient reason, would constitute marital cruelty entitling the husband to divorce.

The ruling was delivered on July 29 by a bench of Justices Sathish Ninan and P Krishna Kumar.

"A demand for a separate residence away from the husband's family, without sufficient reason, by itself constitutes an act of cruelty," the Court said.

The judgment was passed on an appeal filed by a man against the verdict of a family court which dismissed his petition for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956.

The man and his wife got married in 2015 when he was working in Dubai. A week after the wedding, the couple went to Dubai where they lived in a rented residence. The husband's parents also lived with them.

The wife returned to India to her parents' place during the last stage of her pregnancy in 2016. However, she refused to return to Dubai even after the birth of their daughter.

According to the husband, the wife informed him that she would return only if he arranged a two-bedroom flat separate from his parents' residence. He also alleged that the wife's conduct during the marriage would amount to cruelty entitling him to divorce. In this regard, he pointed out that the wife and her family conducted a naming ceremony for their child without informing him.

The wife, on the other hand, refuted all the allegations and said that the only issue was that the her mother-in-law was not permitting the couple to maintain a cordial relationship.

The family court rejected the husband's plea for divorce, concluding that there was no serious dispute between the couple and that the only grievance raised by the wife related to interference caused by her mother-in-law.

This led to the appeal before the High Court.

The High Court noted that in a telephonic conversation between the wife and her father-in-law, she clearly stated that there were no issues between her and her mother-in-law.

"Although the respondent (wife) pleaded that she had been ill-treated by the petitioner and his mother, her admission regarding the telephonic conversation with the petitioner's (husband's) father renders that contention improbable. Thus, the demand for a separate residence was without any valid reason or justification," the Court opined.

The Court also noted that the couple have been separated for over nine years.

"From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that the petitioner is entitled to have his marriage with the respondent dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground of matrimonial cruelty," the Court said while allowing the husband's appeal for divorce.

The husband was represented by advocate C Leena. The wife was represented by advocate TV Jayakumar Namboodiri.

[Read Judgment]