The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): The Delhi High Court has declared that making derogatory complaints to a spouse’s employer intended to damage their professional reputation and financial stability qualifies as cruelty. This decision was made by a bench led by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, which dissolved a marriage citing these actions as evidence of the absence of mutual respect and goodwill essential for a healthy marital relationship.
The case came to the High Court after the husband appealed a family court decision that had denied his request for a divorce. He claimed to have suffered severe mental distress due to his wife’s actions, which included sending disparaging complaints to his employer aimed at humiliating him professionally.
The court’s judgment stated, “Regardless of whether the complaints were truthful or not, the act of making derogatory complaints to a spouse’s employer, with the intent to harm their professional standing and financial well-being, constitutes cruelty.” Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna emphasized that such behavior demonstrates a fundamental lack of the respect and goodwill necessary for maintaining a healthy marriage.
The court noted that the couple had been married in January 2011 and had lived apart since September of the same year. It considered the husband’s claims that his wife had used defamatory language towards his father and repeatedly engaged in behavior that undermined his peace of mind and destabilized their marriage.
The judgment also highlighted that ongoing legal battles between the couple, including disputes over guardianship and domestic violence allegations, had only deepened their animosity and made reconciliation impossible. The wife’s short-lived cohabitation with the husband and her failure to pursue a filed restitution of conjugal rights petition were also seen as contributing to the prolonged emotional distress suffered by the husband.
Ultimately, the court concluded that the wife’s actions and the extended litigation constituted cruelty, and it granted the husband a divorce under Sections 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. This ruling underscores the legal recognition of psychological harm and its impact on marital relationships, setting a precedent for future cases involving similar claims.
