“Unproven Sexual Charges Against Husband, Father-in-Law Amounts To Mental Cruelty”
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The Madras High Court ruled that making unproven sexual allegations against a husband and his father causes mental cruelty and can be valid grounds for seeking divorce under the law.
The Madras High Court ruled that making derogatory and defamatory sexual allegations against a husband and father-in-law can constitute mental cruelty, thus providing a valid basis for divorce.
This decision was made by a Division Bench comprising Justices J. Nisha Banu and R. Sakthivel, who overturned a 2023 Family Court ruling in Chennai that had denied the couple a divorce.
The Bench granted the husband’s appeal and dissolved the marriage.
Counsel for the appellant, V.R. Kamalanathan, informed the court that the couple married in September 2015 and welcomed a child in July 2016.
However, their marriage faced crucial issues, prompting the husband to file for divorce in October 2017.
He alleged that his wife spent only 51 days in their home during the first two years and primarily lived at her maternal residence, in addition to claiming she was verbally abusive and quarrelsome.
Also Read: Delhi High Court Rules Public Humiliation of Husband by Wife as Mental Cruelty
Following the divorce petition, the wife accused her father-in-law of making sexual advances and characterized her husband as a pervert with multiple affairs, though she later withdrew the complaint. The husband’s counsel argued that such unfounded accusations amounted to mental cruelty.
In response, the woman claimed she retracted the complaint because her husband had promised to reconcile with her.
However, when he did not fulfill that promise, she sought restitution of conjugal rights, which the Family Court granted.
Justice Sakthivel, writing for the Bench, stated that if the woman genuinely believed she was misled into withdrawing her complaint, she should have pursued the matter in a criminal court to substantiate her claims.
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh High Court: Denial of Sex by Wife Constitutes Cruelty, Grounds for Divorce
The Bench concluded that the unproven allegations made in the police complaint would undoubtedly inflict mental distress and stigma on the husband and his family, thus qualifying as cruelty.
Taking into account that eight years have passed since the couple’s separation and that mediation efforts by the High Court had failed the previous year, the Bench decided to dissolve the marriage while ensuring that the woman and her child would receive maintenance.
