LUCKNOW: On the basis of a protracted case for divorce filed by a husband that dragged on for 23 long years between the family court and high court, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, in Uttar Pradesh, has now ruled that, behaviour that can be described as ‘cruelty upon the husband by the wife, through acts such as- building pressure on him to abandon his elderly parents, or demanding a fixed sum every month from him, for personal expenses, can form legitimate grounds for seeking divorce. The court also ruled that a woman who makes such demands while earning more than her husband will not be entitled for permanent alimony.
Court made these observations while upholding the judgment of a family court which granted divorce to a man on the above grounds and also declined permanent alimony to his wife under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, Times of India reported Tuesday.
Expressing concern over the case which dragged for over 23 years, a division bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Mahendra Dayal said, “The worst sufferer of this long litigation is the child and the parties are still not ready to reconcile or settle their dispute amicably.”
The couple in question were married in Lucknow on February 5, 1991. Soon afterwards, the wife allegedly demanded that her in-laws be evicted from the house and asked that she be given Rs 3,000 for her monthly expenses on cosmetics and outings. When the husband reportedly failed to meet her demands, the wife started harassing her in-laws and husband physically and mentally. The man then lodged a police complaint on June 14, 1991, and got his injuries examined in the government hospital. He also complained to his wifes mother and two brothers but to no avail. The annoyed wife, then allegedly threatened to frame her husband and in-laws in a dowry harassment case.
He filed a divorce petition in the family court in October 1991, within months of the marriage. The wife filed a counter case, alleging dowry harassment against her in-laws and husband, in which the accused were later acquitted.
The case dragged on for 13 years till the husband obtained a high court order instructing the family court to decide the matter within a fixed timeframe of three months. On September 30, 2004, the family court granted divorce to the husband and declined any permanent alimony to his wife.
The wife however, challenged the twin orders in the high court. The high court eventually ended the saga by rejecting her plea after a 10-year trial.
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