The Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) held that prolonged neglect, separation, and filing serious criminal allegations can amount to mental cruelty. Justices G.K. Ilanthiraiyan and R. Poornima granted divorce, finding the husband proved cruelty by his spouse.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently held that prolonged neglect and living apart from a husband, together with the filing of a criminal complaint containing serious allegations against him, can constitute mental cruelty warranting divorce.
A Division Bench comprising Justices G.K. Ilanthiraiyan and R. Poornima made this finding while allowing a man’s petition for divorce.
The Court said,
“The appellant has established that he suffered cruelty at the hands of the respondent. The respondent neglected the appellant, lived separately without taking care of the children, and initiated criminal proceedings containing grave allegations against him and his family members,”
The High Court therefore set aside a 2020 decision of the family court at Thoothukudi, which had earlier rejected the divorce claim.
The couple married in June 2000 and have two daughters. The husband, a mechanical engineer, obtained employment in Hyderabad where they initially cohabited.
According to the husband’s account, the wife’s behaviour later became aggressive: she allegedly damaged household items and made suicide threats. He also claimed she frequently questioned his character and subjected him to mental harassment.
He further alleged that the wife entered into an illicit relationship and ultimately abandoned him and the children. The husband says he resigned from his job in 2015 to care for their daughters, who have remained in his custody since.
The husband served a legal notice seeking divorce in May 2015 and subsequently filed a petition on the ground of cruelty.
The wife refuted these claims, accusing the husband of alcoholism and neglect, and asserting that she had cared for him during a cardiac illness. She maintained that it was he who had treated her cruelly.
She also lodged a domestic violence complaint alleging harassment and dowry demands by the husband and his family.
The Thoothukudi family court dismissed the husband’s divorce petition, finding that he had not proved cruelty or adultery. The court also held that even if some acts of cruelty were assumed, they had been condoned because the parties had continued to live together during the litigation.
On that basis, the family court refused to dissolve the marriage.
The husband appealed to the High Court.
The High Court disagreed with the family court’s approach.
The High Court observed,
“The ground on which the trial Court dismissed the divorce petition does not appear to be proper,”
The Bench noted that after the husband filed for divorce, the wife initiated domestic violence proceedings alleging serious misconduct by him and his relatives.
It said,
“While the respondent made several serious allegations in the domestic violence petition, she now claims that she is willing to live with the appellant, which appears to be exaggerated.”
The Court also recorded that the domestic violence case was ultimately dismissed.
On the facts, the High Court concluded that the husband had established cruelty.
Although the husband alleged adultery, the Court found that this claim was not proved, in part because the purported third party was not made a party to the proceedings.
Nevertheless, the Bench held that the wife’s conduct independently established cruelty.
Accordingly, it allowed the husband’s appeal, set aside the family court’s order and dissolved the marriage.
The husband was represented by advocates S. Sharma and K. Veilmuthi. The wife was represented by advocate S. Satish Kumar.
Case Title: Muthukumar Vs Karpagavalli.
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