The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a wife’s decision not to observe ‘parda’ (veil) or her choice to be independent cannot be considered mental cruelty, dismissing a husband’s plea for divorce on these grounds.
A bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh upheld a family court’s decision, rejecting the husband’s argument that his wife’s behavior, including going out independently and not wearing a veil, constituted cruelty.
“The wife being a free-willed person who travels or interacts with others in civil society, without any illegal or immoral conduct, cannot be described as committing acts of cruelty,” the court said.
The bench said that both parties are well-educated— the husband being an engineer and the wife a government teacher. It added, “Differences in life perspectives or behavior cannot, by themselves, be classified as cruelty unless proven facts align with legal standards for cruelty.”
The husband had also alleged that the wife was involved in an immoral relationship with someone he referred to as ‘Punjabi Baba.’ However, the court noted, “No conclusive evidence was provided to support these claims.”
Despite dismissing the claims of cruelty, the court acknowledged the husband’s plea for mental cruelty based on desertion. It observed that the wife had refused cohabitation for a long time and had not made efforts to restore the marital relationship.
“The wife’s refusal to cohabit and revive the marriage constitutes desertion of a degree warranting the dissolution of marriage,” the bench stated.
The court granted the husband’s plea for divorce, noting that both parties are financially independent and their only child, aged 29, remains in the wife’s custody. It added that no provision for alimony was necessary.
