Karnataka High Court recently granted divorce to a man and held that insulting a man for being a dark complexion by his wife amounts to cruelty and is a valid reason to grant divorce. The High Court bench granted divorce to a 44 year old man from his 41-year-old wife.
The division bench comprising Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde noted that the evidence on record, from close scrutiny, also leads to the conclusion that the wife used to insult the husband on the premise that he is dark and for the same reason has moved away from the company of the husband without any cause.
While allowing the petition under Section 13(i)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, the High Court stated, “To cover up this aspect, (she) has levelled false allegations of illicit relationships against the husband. These facts certainly will constitute cruelty.”
The couple got married in 2007 and had a girl child out of that wedlock. In 2012, the husband filed for divorce in a family court in Bengaluru.
“It is the case of the husband that the wife used to humiliate him on the pretext that he is dark-skinned. He has further stated that the husband used to bear insult for the sake of the child,” the bench said.
The wife had also filed a case under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code against her husband and in-laws. She had also filed a complaint domestic violence case. The husband alleged that the wife had filed a false case against him and the family.
However, the wife refuted the allegations and alleged that he was involved in an extramarital affair. She added that she was subjected to physical abuse and was ill-treated by his family.
Noting that there is no evidence on record to support the wife’s claim about the husband’s extramarital affair, the court concluded that the allegations are reckless and baseless.
The bench stated, “When the question has been put to the wife in the cross-examination, whether she is willing to join the company of the husband, the wife though has stated that she is willing to join the company, has stated that she is not willing to withdraw any of the complaints filed against the husband and his family members. This fact would clearly establish that the wife is not willing to join the company of the husband and there is a big rift between the husband and the wife.”
Therefore, the bench held that the husband’s allegations of cruelty are duly established and granted the decree of divorce on the cruelty grounds.
