Long separation no ground for divorce: HC

Source:- indiatimes.com

Nagpur: Can only long separation or permanent breakdown of marriage is a ground for divorce? No, says the Nagpur family court, which held that it wasn’t allowed under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The court rejected Mahabaleshwar-based man’s plea for dissolution of marriage on the grounds of cruelty under Section 13(1) (i-a) of the Act.

“The couple is living apart since eight years. However, only long separation or irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground for divorce. The husband failed to establish his case of cruelty for divorce within the meaning of Section 13(1) (i-a). Therefore, he is not entitled to the decree of divorce,” Subhash Kafre held.

The couple entered into matrimony February 25, 2003, in Solapur, but soon differences cropped up between them over residing in a joint family. Both came from highly educated backgrounds. While the husband was an engineer, wife was helping him out in his business of property valuation. Their fights grew serious after wife had a miscarriage of pregnancy.

According to husband, the wife left the home without intimating him and he had to bring her back from Pune, Alandi, Latur and Gondwale, many a times. Suspecting some mental illness, the petitioner took her for psychiatric treatment, after which there was some improvement. But later she stopped taking medicines, which worsened the condition. On November 30, 2008, the wife allegedly forced him to leave the house and also tried to commit suicide. Also in 2009, his father in law abused and assaulted him, after which he lodged a police complaint and filed a case for divorce.

The judge however refused to buy his contentions observing that his case was based upon flimsy, fragile, friable, shivery and brittle allegations which do not hold water. “Both the parties are highly educated and professional valuers of properties and well placed in this competitive world. However, they failed to nourish the values of their marital life, which become atrophied.”

Kafre added that though the couple worked together as business partners for few years, they remained unsuccessful in leading role of loving and caring partners of married life and resultantly, blame game started on trivial issues. “The parties, through their profession, were helping the clients to fulfil their dreams of home or industrial projects. But, they failed to design and decorate their own nest. Unconditional love, mutual trust and respect to each another, are the basic ground norms of edifice of every marriage,” he tersely noted.

The court pointed out that husband failed to substantiate his allegation against wife. “The petitioner hasn’t pointed out any grave and weighty circumstance to conclusion that it’s not reasonably possible for him to stay with the wife to continue the marital tie. He mentioned incidents of ordinary marital wear and tear. Therefore, no significance can be given to those averments made in the pleadings,” the judge ruled.