In a bizarre case that exposes the reality of changing society, a couple has been granted a divorce on various grounds that included the wife taunting the husband. The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that if a wife taunts a husband for not having a job during a financially bad phase, then it amounts to mental cruelty and stands as a ground for divorce. The High Court granted a divorce to a 52-year-old lawyer from Durg in the case.

The order was delivered by a division bench of Justice Rajani Dubey and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad, where the High Court quashed an order by a family court delivered in Oct 2023, where the lower court has dismissed the husband’s plea for divorce. The High Court has now noted that the wife’s conduct of abandoning husband and son without any cause and taunting him during financial hardship and skipping court proceedings stood the ground for divorce as under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as these led to cruelty and desertion.

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“A spouse’s behaviour, including verbal altercations and unreasonable demands, can constitute mental cruelty, warranting a decree of divorce,” said the bench while granting divorce to the husband. 

The couple tied the knot on December 26, 1996, in Bhilai. They have two children — a daughter, now 19, and a son, 16. According to court documents, the husband had supported his wife through her PhD studies and even helped her secure a position as a school principal.

However, his lawyer argued that over time, the wife became increasingly argumentative, often clashing with him over small matters. Tensions reportedly worsened during the pandemic when his income was hit due to court closures, and she allegedly taunted him about it. In August 2020, after a heated dispute, she left the marital home with their daughter. The husband and son tried to bring her back, but she refused.

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Since September 16, 2020, the two have been living separately. The court observed that the marriage had “irretrievably broken down,” noting that the wife’s decision to leave without sufficient reason, and her refusal to return despite attempts at reconciliation, amounted to desertion. Judges also pointed out that her absence from the legal proceedings further signaled her intent to end the marriage.