The High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur Bench has confirms Family Court decree of divorce in favour of wife, finds husband’s prior subsisting marriage, daily alcohol-fuelled abuse, and total abandonment after her rape as conclusive proof of cruelty and desertion under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The court further held that marrying another woman while having a valid and subsisting marriage with the respondent also amounted to cruelty and desertion, a finding that the trial court had erroneously failed to appreciate.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh found that the husband admitted in cross-examination that he was already married to one Resham and produced no documents showing divorce or judicial separation from her. The Court held that marrying another woman while a valid marriage is still subsisting amounts to both cruelty and desertion. The Court also noted that the husband had himself obtained a decree of restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act but never made any attempt to bring his wife back or live with her.
The wife was subjected to rape by unknown persons during the period she was forced to live at her parental home. When she sought help from the husband, he extended no support whatsoever effectively dumping her, possibly because she belonged to a different community. The court treated this as a glaring instance of both physical and mental cruelty.
The Court also found from the wife’s testimony a pattern of daily alcohol consumption, verbal abuse, physical assault, and demands for dowry items including a television, refrigerator, cooler, almirah, Bullet motorcycle, and jewellery. The husband failed to produce any independent witnesses or family members to rebut this evidence. Further, the Family Court granted divorce only on the ground of cruelty and rejected the ground of desertion.
Briefly, the respondent, Smt. Mala, filed a petition before the Family Court, Khandwa under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, seeking dissolution of her marriage with the appellant, Pradeep Kheraj. The marriage was solemnised on June 21, 2017 at Arya Samaj Mandir, Indore. It was a love marriage performed against the wishes of both families. The appellant had sought time to convince his family members about the marriage and to secure acceptance for the respondent wife in her matrimonial home, but this never materialised.
The wife alleged that she was deserted despite her best efforts to adjust, and that the appellant’s parents refused to accept her. When she was eventually taken to the matrimonial home, the appellant began misbehaving with her and consuming alcohol. There were frequent instances of abuse and physical assault. The wife also alleged that the appellant attempted to perform unnatural sex with her. The respondent wife was subsequently subjected to rape by unknown persons, and when she sought help from the appellant husband, no assistance was extended. She was effectively dumped, possibly because she belonged to a different community.
The wife also alleged that the appellant had an illicit relationship with another woman, for which photographs were produced before the trial court (though not accepted). The trial court granted the decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty but did not accept the ground of desertion. The appellant husband filed the first appeal before the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur, contending that the ground of cruelty was not made out from the evidence on record and that the trial court erroneously treated the non-execution of a decree of restitution of conjugal rights (obtained by the husband under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act) as a circumstance reflecting cruelty and irretrievable breakdown of marriage.
