Man cannot be granted divorce merely because he was acquitted in cruelty case filed by wife: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently held that a man cannot be granted divorce merely because he has been acquitted by a criminal court in a case of cruelty filed by his wife..Such acquittal does not wash away the cruelty he committed on her by being involved with another woman during the subsistence of his marriage, a division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said.“Merely because there is an acquittal by a criminal court, does not wash away the cruelty committed by the appellant [husband] of being involved with a young girl during the subsistence of his marriage with the respondent; mere acquittal in a criminal case cannot be a ground to grant divorce,” the Court held.It observed that marital bonds are delicate emotional human relationships and involvement of any third person could result in complete collapse of trust, faith, and tranquility.“Any sort of influence by a third person can just be a silent destroyer of the bond, leading to prolonged irreconcilable differences. Such relations eventually become a ticking time bomb, where feelings of anguish, despair, rejection and disappointment get trapped and post explosion, the shrapnel of these suppressed feelings causes injury to everyone involved, whether directly or indirectly," the Court stated. .The Court made the observations while dealing with a plea filed by a man against the family court order denying him divorce.The couple had gotten married in the year 1982 and had two children. They started living separately in the year 1994.Various allegations were made by the couple against each other. However, the wife alleged that the husband was involved in an illicit relationship with a much younger girl since 1993. The wife also got a first information report (FIR) registered against her husband and his family members under Sections 498A (cruelty) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code.While the man’s family members were discharged in the case at the stage of framing of charges, he was acquitted in 2013.The husband denied the allegation of being involved in an illicit relationship but conceded that this girl did come to live with him in his house but as a governess..After considering the case, the bench termed this explanation ‘fantastic’ and ‘absurd’.The Court noted that the man's children were addressing the woman as ‘mother’, she was already a government servant and that there was enough evidence to suggest that she was living as the man’s wife.“We, in the light of blatant conduct of the appellant is showing scant regard to his matrimonial relationship, are compelled to observe that despite it being a failed marriage of over 40 years, granting Divorce would be adding a premium to the wrong acts of the appellant,” the Court held.It added that this is one case where Section 23(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, which provides that no person can take advantage of its own wrong, comes into play in full force.Hence, it dismissed the appeal by the husband. “We hereby conclude that the learned Additional District Judge has rightly concluded that it is the appellant who is responsible for acts of cruelty towards the respondent and had rejected the divorce petition. Accordingly, there is no merit in the present appeal, which is hereby dismissed along with pending application(s), if any,” the Court ordered. .Advocates Naina Kejriwal and Shoma appeared for the appellant-husband.Respondent-wife was represented through advocates S Janani and Sharika Rai..[Read Judgment]