Chhattisgarh HC grants divorce citing cruelty and desertion by wife

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh high court has granted divorce to a 52-year-old man from Durg, overturning a lower court’s order that had dismissed his plea. A division bench of Justice Rajani Dubey and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad held that the wife’s conduct—abandoning her husband and son without cause, taunting him during financial hardship, and remaining absent from proceedings—amounted to mental cruelty and desertion.The bench on Monday noted that the wife had deliberately abandoned her husband and son after her income increased.The man, an advocate, had filed for divorce in the family court on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. His application was dismissed on 25 October-2023 by the additional third principal judge, family court, Durg.According to the court documents, the applicant got married on 26 December-1996 in Bhilai.

They have a 19-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son. The court was informed that the wife, after completing her Ph.D. with her husband’s help and securing a job as a school principal, began to quarrel with him over minor issues.The husband’s legal counsel submitted that during the Covid-19 pandemic, when his income stopped due to court closures, his wife taunted him for being unemployed and made unreasonable demands.

Following a dispute on 2 August-2020, she left home with their daughter. The husband and son tried to bring her back but were allegedly forced to leave.The court was also presented with a letter from 16 September-2020, which the wife had written, stating that she was leaving the home of her own free will. She informed the police about her decision four days later.The HC observed that the wife’s conduct, including taunting her husband and making unreasonable demands during a period of financial distress, clearly amounted to mental cruelty.

Her absence from all court proceedings further proved her intention to end the marriage.The bench also ruled that the wife’s actions constituted desertion, citing that she had intentionally left the matrimonial home without a justifiable reason and had not returned despite the husband's efforts. The court referenced previous judgements from the Supreme Court to support its finding on cruelty and desertion.The HC concluded that since the couple had been living separately since 16 September-2020, their marriage had broken down irretrievably. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed, and the marriage was dissolved.