The Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld a family court's decision to grant a divorce to a man, ruling that his wife's refusal to live with him and her demand for Rs 2 crore to agree to the divorce amounted to mental cruelty. The husband had sought divorce on these grounds. The high court dismissed the wife's appeal and maintained the family court's order of Rs 10 lakh as alimony.
The court said the wife's conduct made the marriage impossible to continue. She had demanded a large sum of money as a condition for agreeing to the divorce proceedings, which the court found to be a form of mental cruelty. The judgment reinforces that the marriage had broken down irretrievably.
The case originated from a family court that had earlier granted the divorce. The wife challenged that decision in the high court, which reviewed the evidence and upheld the lower court's findings. The high court noted that the wife's refusal to live with her husband and her financial demand caused undue stress and mental suffering to the husband, justifying the divorce.
The decision applies the legal principle that persistent refusal to cohabit without reasonable cause can constitute mental cruelty. The court also considered the demand for Rs 2 crore as excessive and indicative of an unwillingness to reconcile.
Legal experts say the ruling clarifies that such demands can be seen as cruelty under matrimonial law. The alimony of Rs 10 lakh was considered reasonable by the court.