The Jharkhand High Court granted divorce to a woman subjected to repeated humiliation by her husband and in-laws over photographs from a relationship predating her marriage. The Bench found the husband accessed her Google Drive and shared objectionable images.
JHARKHAND: The Jharkhand High Court granted a divorce to a woman who faced continual humiliation from her husband and in-laws due to certain photographs from a previous relationship prior to her marriage.
A Division Bench consisting of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai determined that the husband had transferred the “objectionable” photographs from the woman’s Google Drive and shared them with his family members.
The judges concluded that the mental distress inflicted on the wife was so severe that it made it impossible for her to continue living with her husband, as the bond of trust had been irreparably damaged.
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The ruling came in response to an appeal filed by a 32-year-old woman who married in 2020. She had previously sought a divorce in a family court, but her request was dismissed in 2023.
According to the details of the case, the husband’s discovery of the “objectionable photographs” occurred just a day after their marriage when he checked her mobile phone while she was asleep.
He allegedly transferred the images to his own phone and began threatening to post them on social media, in addition to allegedly subjecting her to torture.
Conversely, the husband denied the accusations and claimed he was willing to accept her as his wife despite being aware of her past relationship. He also asserted that she had never informed him about her previous relationship.
The Court stated,
“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 Bench remarked,
“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,”
While the Court found no solid evidence to substantiate the woman’s claims of physical abuse by her husband, it acknowledged that cruelty can also be psychological.
The Court ruled,
“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 judgment reversed the family court’s decision that had denied the divorce on the grounds of cruelty under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The Court granting her the divorce, concluded that,
“Accordingly, the instant appeal stands allowed,”
Advocate Sanjay Prasad represented the wife, while Advocates Abhijeet Kr Singh, Shashank Kumar, and Harsh Chandra represented the husband.