Accusation of unchastity or extra-marital relationship is a grave assault on character, reputation and health of a spouse against whom such serious allegations are made, the Delhi High Court has said, observing that marriage is a solemn relation and its purity must be maintained for a healthy society.
The high court said such serious allegations cause mental pain, agony, suffering and tantamount to cruelty and the tendency of making false allegations has to be deprecated by the courts.
"It has repeatedly been held that accusations of unchastity or extra-marital relationship is a grave assault on character, status, reputation as well as health of the spouse against whom such allegations were made. It causes mental pain, agony, suffering and tantamounts to cruelty. The allegations of extra-marital affairs in a relationship are serious allegations, which have to be made with all seriousness. The tendency of making false allegations has to be deprecated by the courts," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Dinesh Kumar Sharma said in a judgement passed on March 21.
The high court's verdict came while upholding a family court's decision granting a divorce decree in favour of a husband on the grounds of cruelty to him by his wife.
It said the family court had correctly appreciated the evidence and has rightly found that the wife by making unfounded allegations amounting to character assassination against the husband and father-in-law has inflicted mental cruelty upon the man.
The court dismissed an appeal filed by the woman challenging the family court's January 31, 2019 order granting divorce decree in favour of her estranged husband under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The high court said that in the appeal too the woman had failed to bring any credible material to suggest that the findings recorded by the trial court are incorrect and added that the mal-intent of the woman was also evident from her admission of publicising her allegations against her father-in-law.
"In the present case, the appellant (wife) has made serious allegations, but the same were not substantiated during the trial. The appellant also filed a serious complaint against the father of the husband, which also resulted in acquittal. We consider that these two aspects simply can be taken as acts of cruelty by the appellant, upon the respondent (husband). Marriage is a solemn relation and its purity must be maintained for a healthy society. Thus, we see no reason to interfere with the impugned judgment and decree. Dismissed," the high court said.
The couple got married in June 2014 and soon after that the relations between the couple turned sour and they started residing separately.
The woman had lodged a criminal case against her father-in-law on the allegations of molestation and thereafter, the man filed a divorce petition on the ground of cruelty.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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