"Wife filed false complaint against husband, his family causing immense mental cruelty": Delhi HC dissolves marriage

New Delhi: Delhi High Court has dissolved a marriage between a couple on the basis a false criminal complaint filed by a woman against her husband which caused him a mental cruelty and agony.

In this matter the marriage between the parties was solemnised in the May 2008 and after nearly two years of leaving the matrimonial home the wife had filed a complaint before the crime against women (CAW) Cell alleging dowry demands, abuse, physical and mental torture and harassment, amongst other cruelties and all these allegations remained unsubstantiated.

The Counsel on behalf of husband filed an appeal against the family court order by submitting before the court that the complaint before the CAW cell was a counterblast to his petition seeking restitution of conjugal rights.

The counsel submitted that the husband had visited 30 to 40 times in the police station in connection of the false complaint which must have caused mental harassment and trauma each time while he was required to visit the police station and he was not knowing when a case would be registered against him and he would be arrested.

Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh after hearing the submission said that the complaint on the basis of false allegations in the present case amounted to a clear and categorical character assassination not only for the husband but also for his family members.

The Division Bench after hearing set aside the order of Family Court which refused to grant divorce to the couple in which the wife did everything to get entrapped the husband and his family members in the criminal case.

The wife has filed an unsubstantiated criminal complaint against the Appellant husband and his family members which caused them immense mental cruelty and agony.

The Court after hearing noted that the wife also failed to justify not returning to the matrimonial home and the conduct of the wife has been such as to cause great mental anguish to the Appellant husband and the parties cannot be reasonably expected to live with each other anymore.

The Division Bench said that this Court is not agree with the view of Family Court that the burden of proving that he and his family had not subjected the wife to harassment or cruelty for dowry lay with the husband and such an approach was palpably wrong and against all canons of justice and fair play.

The court opined that the relations between the parties were sufficiently beyond repair and continuous separation between the parties for a long period should itself be a ground for divorce. (UNI)