Justice Devan Ramachandran, Justice M.B. Snehalatha, Kerala High Court
Courts Have To Analyse Whether Alleged Cruelty Makes It Unreasonable For One Spouse To Live With The Other: Kerala HC
|The Kerala High Court dismissed the challenge against the Family Court’s Order dismissing the husband’s Petition for divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion.
The Kerala High Court has clarified that Courts have to analyse whether alleged cruelty makes it unreasonable for one spouse to live with the other while hearing divorce pleas.
The Court dismissed the Appeal by the husband challenging the decision of the Family Court which dismissed his Petition for seeking divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion.
A Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice MB Snehalatha held, “A behaviour that may be seen as trivial in one marriage might be deeply hurtful in another. Therefore, cruelty is to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. What constitutes cruelty in a matrimonial relationship depends on the unique circumstances, behaviour and experience of the parties involved. Courts do not rely on a rigid definition of cruelty but has to evaluate each case based on its facts. Courts have to analyse whether the conduct makes out unreasonable for the one spouse to live with the other.”
Advocate Carolin Sindhu Vaz represented the Appellant.
Brief Facts
The husband alleged that while he was out of the country for work, the wife refused to stay along with his parents. He alleged that when he would come on leave, he used to stay with the wife at her house, but she used to neglect him and pick up quarrels with him. She even refused to have a sexual relationship with him.
However, the wife testified that it was the husband who avoided her and was not prepared to live with her. According to her, there was no desertion or any acts of cruelty on her part as she has been desirous to continue the marital life with him.
The Family Court dismissed his Petition with a finding that the husband failed to establish the grounds of cruelty and desertion as alleged by him.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court upheld the decision of the Family Court for rejecting the husband’s Petition for divorce on grounds of desertion while holding that the husband could not make out the ground of desertion as he was residing with his wife till the filing of the Original Petition.
Regarding the ground of cruelty as alleged by the husband, the Court explained, “The party seeking divorce must establish valid legal grounds as recognised under the law, so as to grant divorce. Those grounds typically need to be supported by evidence and if the party fails to establish the grounds, the divorce has to be disallowed. This ensures that divorce proceedings are fair and not based on arbitrary or frivolous claims.”
In this case, the Bench noted that apart from general statements made by the husband that the wife behaved in a cruel manner and used to pick quarrels with him and his relatives, the husband could not establish any acts of cruelty
“Hence, divorce sought on the ground of cruelty cannot be granted,” it held.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the Appeal.
Cause Title: A v. S (Neutral Citation: 2025:KER:8852)
Appearance:
Appellant: Advocates Carolin Sindhu Vaz, C. Sivadas and Akhil Sasidharan