Nowadays, the institution of marriage has frequently devolved into a contentious process including matrimonial litigation, where the courts are frequently required to strike a balance between the parties’ differing points of view while upholding the rule of law.
In one such matrimonial litigation, a division bench of Chhattisgarh High Court decided on an otherwise routine issue related to a married couple whereby the Husband, who frequently arrived late at home when doubted upon by his wife with a suspicion of infidelity, alleged that the wife meted out cruelty upon him. What was held by the court?
The Wife who was married to her husband in 2002, filed an appeal before a division bench of Chhattisgarh High Court challenging the decree of divorce granted by the Family Court in favour of the husband on the ground of desertion. While, before the Family Court, one of the grounds alleged by the Wife was cruelty meted out by the husband to the wife.
One interesting turn of events in this matter came by way of a question as to whether the wife who doubted upon the husband for coming home late would amount to cruelty or not?
To this, the court read into the submissions made by both the parties wherein the husband did admit of coming home late at night due to his involvement in politics and not because of any illicit relations as alleged by the wife.
However, the Court by applying its judicial wisdom and human psychology arrived at a conclusion that though, a husband arriving at late hours in his home may creep in doubts in the mind of the wife, the same cannot amount to cruelty.
Thus, the Court allowed the appeal by setting aside the decree of divorce granted on the ground of cruelty attributed to the wife and also awarded maintenance to the wife.
