Wife whose husband is sentenced to life imprisonment for murder is entitled to divorce: Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently granted divorce to a woman whose husband was convicted and sentenced to life sentence for murdering his own father in connection with a property dispute..The division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Rajendra Kumar Vani said although there is no such provision for grant of divorce on account of conviction of wife or husband, the relief can be granted in such cases on account of mental cruelty.“The conviction of the husband under Section 302 of IPC and sentence of life imprisonment amounts to mental cruelty towards the wife which entails her getting the divorce from her husband,” the Court said..In the present case, the couple had married in 2011 and have a daughter. In 2020, the wife moved a family court in Gwalior for divorce on the ground that the husband was convicted for murder in 2019. It was also alleged that her husband’s behaviour towards her was cruel and aggressive. The family court last year rejected the wife’s plea for divorce, holding that conviction in a criminal case does not amount to cruelty and that there was no evidence that her husband used to commit cruelty on her..On appeal, the High Court noted that two criminal cases were registered against the husband and in one of them, he was convicted for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. “Although there is provision for releasing him on bail by way of suspension of sentence, but it would be very difficult for a wife to live with a person who is facing trial under Section 307 of IPC and has been convicted under Section 302 of IPC for committing murder of his father it would certainly cause mental cruelty to her,” the Court opined..Taking into account the fact that the husband killed his own father because of a property dispute, the Court also reasoned that no wife can live in a matrimonial relationship with a person who is so short-tempered and impulsive criminal.“Even otherwise, it is not a case of a wife living with a convicted husband but it would not be better for her daughter to live with her father, who has a criminal background. If she lives with the respondent at the age of 6 years it will not be advisable for her mental wellbeing,” it added..Thus, the Court said the family court was not right in dismissing the case. It further said that this was a case of desertion of more than two years since the husband was arrested in 2017 and for the past six years, the couple have not lived together as husband and wife.“Therefore, this is the situational desertion of wife by the respondent/husband. On this ground also, she is entitled for divorce,” it held.Tthe criminal history of the husband would cause constant fear in the mind of the wife about her safety as well as that of her daughter, the Court said while setting aside the family court ruling and dissolving the marriage. .Advocate Suresh Agrawal represented the wife.Advocate Rajmani Bansal represented the husband.[Read Judgment]