The Madhya Pradesh High Court dissolved a marriage due to mental cruelty and denied the husband’s restitution plea, citing the wife’s forced educational abandonment and other harassment, establishing a landmark ruling.
Bhopal: In a landmark ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court dissolved a marriage on grounds of cruelty, overturning a Family Court’s decision that had denied the wife’s divorce plea and granted the husband’s petition for restitution of conjugal rights.
A Division Bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Gajendra Singh allowed the wife’s appeal, citing mental cruelty caused by denial of education, dowry demands, and harassment under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The couple married on May 1, 2015, and the gauna ceremony took place on July 16, 2016. The wife, a 12th-pass student, wanted to continue her education, a wish initially agreed upon by the husband’s family. However, after marriage, she was pressured to stay at her matrimonial home and discontinue her studies.
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She also alleged harassment for additional dowry of Rs 1 lakh and a motorcycle, physical abuse, and unnatural sexual intercourse. Her father lodged a complaint, and she returned to her parental home on July 28, 2016.
The wife filed for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia), while the husband denied all allegations and sought restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court ruled in favor of the husband, but the High Court found sufficient evidence of mental cruelty.
Citing Supreme Court precedents, the High Court ruled that compelling the wife to abandon education amounted to destroying her dreams, stating:
“Compelling the wife to discontinue her studies or creating such an atmosphere that she is put in a position not to continue her studies is equivalent to destroy her dreams… and certainly amounts to mental cruelty.”
The Court also dismissed the husband’s plea for restitution of conjugal rights, stating it was filed merely to counter the divorce petition.
With the couple separated since 2016, the prolonged separation was deemed an irretrievable breakdown of marriage, leading to the dissolution of marriage on grounds of cruelty.
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