'Taunting husband is cruelty': HC says verbal fights, unreasonable demands can be grounds for divorce

A division bench of Justice Rajani Dubey and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad set aside an October 2023 judgment of the family court that had dismissed his plea for divorce. The bench said the wife’s conduct, leaving her husband and son without cause, taunting him during financial hardship, and not attending the hearings, satisfied the legal grounds of cruelty and desertion under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a TOI report stated.

The couple got married on December 26, 1996, in Bhilai. They have two children, a 19-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son. According to court records, the husband had supported his wife in completing her PhD and in securing a post as a school principal.

The lawyer’s counsel informed the court that problems in the marriage began when the wife became quarrelsome over minor issues. He said she would taunt her husband when his income was affected during the pandemic, as court closures had stalled his work.


The dispute came to a head in August 2020, after which the wife left the house along with their daughter. The husband and son tried to bring her back, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Since September 16, 2020, the couple has lived separately. The bench noted that this period of separation and the circumstances leading to it showed that the marriage had "broken down irretrievably."

The high court observed that the wife’s actions amounted to desertion, as she had left without a justifiable reason and refused to return despite efforts made by her husband and son. Her continued absence during the divorce proceedings was also considered by the court as an indication of her intent to end the marriage.

The judges stressed that the law recognises mental cruelty as a valid ground for divorce. They said taunts, verbal fights, and unreasonable demands could together create a situation that causes suffering to a spouse.

"A spouse's behaviour, including verbal altercations and unreasonable demands, can constitute mental cruelty, warranting a decree of divorce," the bench said, while allowing the husband’s appeal and dissolving the marriage.