Chhattisgarh High Court Supports Divorce Ruling: Constantly Disrespecting Husband’s Faith and Insulting His Deities is Considered Mental Abuse.
The Chhattisgarh High Court noted that the wife’s actions of consistently belittling her husband’s religious beliefs, mocking his deities, and humiliating him constitute mental cruelty. The wife appealed to the High Court against a Family Court decision that granted her husband a divorce under Section 13(1-A) and 13(1B-ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The court emphasized the idea of “Sahadharmini” (Equal Partner in Dharma), which highlights the wife’s vital role in religious duties. Justices Rajani Dubey and Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal pointed out that this principle is found in texts like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Manu Smriti, which states that a man cannot perform a yajna without his wife, as it is incomplete without her.
The husband claimed that after their marriage, the wife often argued over trivial issues and denied him marital happiness. He stated that she left Hinduism to embrace Christianity and threatened to falsely accuse him. The wife, however, refuted these claims, asserting that the husband and his family practiced Christianity, which is how she met him. She argued that she faced torture from her husband over dowry demands and claimed that he abandoned her, while she was open to living in a joint family.
The Bench observed that the respondent/husband clearly stated he practices Hinduism and conducts all related rituals at home. As the eldest son, he is responsible for celebrating family festivals and rituals. The appellant/wife does not join him in any religious activities and has referred to Hinduism as hypocritical, even mocking it. This behavior has caused the respondent to feel embarrassed in front of family and society. The High Court noted that the appellant admitted to living with the respondent for only one year out of six. A detailed review of the evidence showed that she regularly attends church and has not participated in Hindu rituals for the last ten years.
The Bench further stated that the respondent, as a devoted Hindu and the eldest son, has a duty to perform significant family rituals. The appellant, by her own words, has not engaged in any Hindu worship for a decade and prefers church for her spiritual practices. The respondent argued that the appellant consistently belittled his faith, insulted his deities, and brought him shame. The Bench concluded that such actions from a wife, who should support her husband, constitute mental cruelty towards a devoted Hindu partner. The appeal was dismissed, and the Bench ordered the respondent/husband to pay Rs 5 lakh to the appellant/wife as permanent alimony.
Cause Title: X vs Y [Neutral Citation: 2024:CGHC:42296-DB]
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocate Meenu Banerjee
Respondent: Advocates B.N. Mishra & Ganesh Ram Burman
