Jitendra kumar Shrivastava vs Sweta Shrivastava FA 32/23 22/07/24 [ ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT ]

Hindu Marriage Act Section 13(1)(i-a)Family Courts ActSection 19 Ex-parte divorce—Mental and physical cruelty by wifeDismissal of suit by Family Court—Appeal against —The husband alleged harassment by the wife, including abusive behavior, public insults, damage to property, and threats of false criminal casesThe wife forced the husband fo live in a separate room, depriving him of cohabitation, which constitutes mental and physical crueltyThe Family Court erred in disregarding the testimony of the husband’s father, as family members are natural witnesses to incidents occurring within the home—The husband’s father’s testimony, as a natural witness, cannot be arbitrarily dismissedThe wife’s refusal to cohabit amounts to physical and mental cruelty, impacting the husband’s wellbeing—Divorce decree granted in favor of the husband Appeal allowed.

Relevant Paras

Although the ground of the plaintiff’s desertion by the defendant is also established from the material available on record, since the Family Court did not frame any issue on this point, and the ground of cruelty alone is sufficient for allowing the appeal, there is no need go into this question in this appeal. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we answer the points involved in this appeal as follows: –

a) There was sufficient evidence to prove the ground of cruelty pleaded by the plaintiff-appellant for grant of a decree of divorce.
b) The judgment and decree of dismissal of suit passed by the Family Court is unsustainable in law.

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Jitender kumar vs Shweta Shrivastva appeal allowed The Law Literates

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