The Delhi High Court has upheld a family court's decision dissolving the marriage of a couple in their 70s, living apart for the last several years, and dismissed the wife's appeal against the decree of divorce granted to the husband on the ground of cruelty.

The high court said instead of giving a quietus to their disputes, the woman has chosen to continue with divorce proceedings by making unsubstantiated allegations.

While the man claimed that he has been staying separately from his wife since 1980, the woman submitted they are living apart since January 2013.

“The parties are more than seventy years old, and even at this age of life, appellant (wife) instead of giving quietus to their disputes, has chosen to continue with divorce proceedings by making unsubstantiated allegations.

“In our opinion, it is abundantly apparent that the appellant barely sees any good in respondent (husband) and by stretching multiple litigations against him and his sister, she has made it clear that there is no scope for their reunion. Moreover, despite living separately since the year 2013, she has never made an effort to reconcile the disputes,” Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said in a recent order.

The high court dismissed the woman’s appeal challenging the family court’s order granting a decree of divorce in favour of the man.

The couple, Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), had got married in 1973 and have two children. After about 41 years of marriage, the husband sought divorce on the ground of cruelty which was granted by the family court in 2018.

The man alleged that he and his family were put to mental and physical cruelty by his wife, and being her husband, he has the right to live in the company of the appellant but she deprived him of that.

He claimed since the woman never kept him happy and treated him cruelly, he preferred a petition under the Hindu Marriage Act seeking divorce.

However, the woman claimed before the family court that the divorce petition was a counterblast to her domestic violence plea filed against the man. She alleged the man was having an illicit relationship and had deserted her. She said the man never supported her financially.

The woman challenged the family court’s order granting divorce on the ground that the decree was passed on false and unsustainable grounds.

In its verdict, the high court referred to its earlier decisions where it held that the sacrosanct bond of marriage is based on faith and trust, and levelling false allegations of illicit relationship is the ultimate kind of cruelty which drives the spouses apart and shakes the foundation of marriage.

“In our considered opinion, even if it is taken that the man had failed to financially support the woman during the period they lived together but despite having received payment of Rs 1.8 crore from the man, the woman had pressed her application under Section 24 of the Act in present proceedings....this shows her ill intention to mentally harass the man,” the bench said.

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