The Delhi High Court, in a significant ruling, has observed that a wife’s attempt to commit suicide and subsequently blaming her husband and his family for the act constitutes an act of “extreme cruelty.” This observation was made by a division bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who upheld a family court’s decree of divorce, granting the husband’s petition for divorce on the grounds of cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
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The case involved a couple who got married in March 2007 and had a daughter in November 2007. The husband alleged that barely four months into the marriage, the wife deserted the matrimonial home and filed a false criminal complaint. She accused him and his parents of demanding a huge dowry and making exorbitant demands. The bench noted that for about two years, the husband was subjected to various civil and criminal litigations initiated by the wife on unsubstantiated allegations.
The court highlighted the traumatic impact of these allegations on the husband, stating,
“What more can be traumatic than being driven to seek protection from arrest on the unsubstantiated allegations. It reflects that from the beginning of their matrimonial life, there was no trust and faith, rather he was even suspected of committing theft of a car which had been gifted to them at the time of marriage.”
Furthermore, the bench took note of an incident where the wife consumed mosquito repellent liquid in an attempt to commit suicide and wrote a suicide note. In her note, she stated that her husband and in-laws were good people who had given her love and affection, but she was unable to reciprocate the same sentiments, thereby exonerating them from her attempt. However, in her testimony, she tried to retract her admissions in the suicide note, claiming she was compelled to write it. She admitted in her cross-examination that her husband was not even present at the time of her suicide attempt as he was at work.
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The court remarked,
“Such conduct of the appellant in attempting suicide and then trying to put the blame on the husband and his family members is an act of extreme cruelty as the family remained under constant threat of being implicated in false cases.”
The court further observed that while the wife had the legal right to seek redress for any wrongs committed, making unsubstantiated allegations of dowry demands or acts of cruelty and initiating criminal trials against the husband are clearly acts of cruelty.
Concluding the judgment, the court stated,
“We therefore, conclude that the learned Addl. Principal Judge, Family Court has rightly held that the respondent was subjected to cruelty by the appellant and granted divorce under Section 13 (1)(ia) of the HMA.”
These ruling underscores the seriousness with which the judiciary views false allegations and attempts to implicate family members in criminal cases, recognizing such actions as grounds for divorce due to the cruelty they impose on the accused.
