The Patna High Court in its recent order set aside the decree of divorce granted to a husband by the lower court.
The petition of divorce was filed by the man 15-years ago. He is currently living at the local Office of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Case:
Uday Chand Gupta got married to Nisha Gupta in the year 1987. The couple has two sons.
While the matrimonial relationship had allegedly turned sour in 1999, the husband filed for divorce only in 2008.
In the year 2017, the Family Court at Nalanda district granted divorce to the husband on grounds of cruelty. The wife subsequently challenged this order at the High Court.
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Patna High Court
A Division Bench comprising Justice P B Bajanthri and Justice Jitendra Kumar, reversed the 2017 Family Court order stating that the divorce granted to the husband was “not sustainable in the eye of the law” since the latter “failed to prove the ground of cruelty”, reported PTI.
The High Court stated that in fact, it was the husband who had abandoned his wife and children.
In its 47-page judgment, the Patna High Court said:
There may have been ordinary wear and tear in the matrimonial life of the parties, but certainly no cruelty is found to have been committed by the appellant/wife towards the respondent/husband. In fact, cruelty appears to have been committed the other way round.
The High Court then addressed that the wife was still willing to live with the husband. The bench observed:
The wife was still living in her matrimonial house along with her children and it is her husband, who left the house and is living in the office of RSS.
The wife has all along maintained that she wants to live with her husband and she has always welcomed him whenever he comes home and she has never refused cohabitation.
The High Court added,
It is the husband who had stopped taking interest in her and he is not making efforts for cohabitation because he has been living separately from her.
The Court also questioned the delay in filing for divorce in 2008, when the husband claimed that the relationship had gone sour from 1999.
The court rejected husband’s submission that the wife was giving him threats of filing false criminal cases against him. The Court did not find any “cogent evidence” to prove the husband’s charge.
The Court, however, stated that it was proven that the husband used to beat his wife when she opposed to his illicit relationship. The bench also accepted the son’s testimony (who was living with the wife), that “his father used to beat his mother” and even gave her electric shocks.
The Family Court Divorce Order was set aside asking both parties to bear their own costs.
WATCH VIDEO | Patna Woman Forcefully Drags Husband Home When He Arrives At Court For Divorce Case
Voice For Men India Take:
- The parties have been living separately for 15-years
- India follows fault based divorce system as per Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
- The most commonly used civil grounds for divorce by either sides are cruelty and desertion
- Unless there are actual instances of violence with medical report, it is almost impossible to prove cruelty – mostly it is who said what in the confines of the matrimonial home several years ago
- Particularly when it comes to the husbands, the onus of being a provider to his family weighs higher than the alleged cruelty committed on him by the wife
- In the case above, the wife has alleged physical violence by the husband
- Despite this, she is still unwilling to consent for divorce and also directing the husband to return home
- This is a classic case of settling ego battle with a spouse despite him being allegedly violent with you
- Even if the husband decides to return, can such a bitter relationship be revived after prolonged court battle
- What is the point of rejecting divorce in such cases?
- If the husband is guilty of beating and thrashing his wife, why is he not sent to jail?
- Currently, it is only the Supreme Court of India that has powers to dissolve a dead marriage under Article 142 of the constitution
- However, by the time a contested divorce reaches the top court, parties have already ruined 10-15 years of their life
DO WATCH:
Irretrievable Breakdown In Marriage | Supreme Court Judgment | Ashwani Dubey | Voice For Men India
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW:
Patna HC Reverses Divorce Order Despite 15Yrs Separation; Husband Living At @RSSorg Office
▪️Husband: I suffered cruelty, she was giving threats of false criminal cases
▪️Wife: He used to beat me. I've always welcomed him home,never refused cohabitationhttps://t.co/Nz5aCffUM0— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) September 1, 2023
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