The Patna High Court has upheld a family court’s decision to end a couple’s marriage, observing that when both spouses are unwilling to continue living together and there is no adjustment between them, their actions may amount to “reciprocal cruelty", according to an Indian Express report.
A division bench of Justices Rana Vikram Singh and Bibek Chaudhuri passed the order on October 9. Along with upholding the divorce, the court directed the husband to pay his estranged wife ₹36.25 lakh as permanent alimony.
Why did the couple’s marriage break down?
The couple got married in 2013 and have a son. However, their relationship deteriorated soon after the wedding, and they have been living separately for a long time.
The husband approached the family court, accusing his wife of being unwilling to adjust to the matrimonial home and insulting him and his family. He also alleged that she had refused to return despite his repeated attempts to reconcile.
The wife denied these allegations and accused her husband and his family of subjecting her to physical and mental harassment. She claimed that she had been forced to leave the matrimonial home and had demanded ₹20 lakh.
She also told the court that she had sought separate accommodation in Patna so that the couple could live together.
Family court granted divorce in 2022
After examining the case, the family court accepted the husband’s allegations and concluded that he had established cruelty and desertion. It subsequently dissolved the marriage in 2022.
The wife challenged this decision before the Patna High Court, arguing that the family court had failed to assess the evidence properly and had based its decision on conjectures and surmises.
What did the Patna High Court observe?
During the appeal hearing, the high court asked the wife’s counsel whether she still had any mutual trust, love, affection or willingness to resume married life with her husband.
In response, her counsel submitted that the marriage had failed and neither spouse wanted to reunite. The husband’s counsel also agreed that neither party was interested in restoring the relationship.
Taking these submissions into account, the bench noted that the couple had been living apart for an extended period and had no association with each other.
The court acknowledged that it could not grant a divorce solely on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. However, it observed that when neither spouse wishes to continue the relationship and there is no possibility of adjustment, their conduct could be treated as “reciprocal cruelty”.
According to the Express report, the court made the following observation in its October 9 order: “We are conscious of the fact that we could not pass any decree on irretrievable breakdown of marriage, but where there is absolutely no adjustment between the parties, and they do not want to sit, to stay as wife and husband, the act of the parties can be considered as reciprocal cruelty by both the parties. On this ground, the marital tie between the parties can be severed…,”
The bench subsequently upheld the family court’s decision to dissolve the marriage.
Husband directed to pay ₹36.25 lakh in alimony
Along with upholding the divorce, the high court ordered the husband to pay his estranged wife ₹36,25,200 as permanent alimony.
The amount must be paid in two equal instalments of ₹18,12,600 each. The first instalment must be deposited into the wife’s savings account within one month of the order, while the second must be paid within three months.