Wife's partying not mental cruelty, says HC, strikes down divorce order

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has in a marital dispute case ruled that a family court was wrong in granting divorce to a Navi Mumbai resident who had claimed that his wife used to party a lot and misbehave, which constituted cruelty. Justice M L Tahaliyani pointed to the fact that social mores and traditional roles were changing and upheld an appellate court's order overturning the divorce verdict.
Rajesh Chawla, (42), a mariner, claimed that his wife Seema, with whom he has two children, frequently attended late-night parties, misbehaved with him on many occasions, had outbursts on small issues and made his life miserable.
"Socializing to some extent in the present society is permissible," said Justice Tahaliyani, adding, "But there is no evidence to come to the conclusion that on a particular date Seema was drunk or had excess liquor and had come to the house at a particular time."
The court also noted that in the evidence it had come on record that Rajesh too attended parties and on one occasion he was in the company of a female friend who he had brought home as she was drunk and not in a position to go to her home. "This indicates that (the) life of Rajesh and Seema was not a normal life of (a) conservative married couple. Both of them appeared to be in the nature of socializing and were in (the) habit of enjoying parties. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that Seema had subjected Rajesh to cruelty, either physical or mental."
Rajesh then sought to add another allegation claiming Seema had made unsubstantiated allegations of adultery against him and caused him cruelty. The HC, however, pointed out that Rajesh too had made allegations against his wife. "It therefore, appears that both of them were in (the) habit of socialising and it is possible that they misunderstood each other. There is no concrete evidence that Rajesh was treated with cruelty and he is not entitled for a decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty."
Rajesh and Seema, both residents of Delhi, had married in 1999 and have two children. In 2005, the couple moved to Kharghar. Rajesh claimed that Seema used to attend late night parties on the pretext that she had to meet her work clients till late in the evening. He also claimed that once Seema had slapped him on the ship when he had taken her on a work-related trip and once she had hit his father, breaking his spectacles. The HC said there was no corroboration for the first incident and Rajesh had not examined his parents during the trial to prove the second incident.
Rajesh had moved the family court in 2008, which granted him divorce on the grounds of cruelty in 2011. Seema challenged the order before an appellate court, which struck down the divorce order. Rajesh then approached the HC to challenge the order. The HC held that the appellate court was right in saying he was not entitled to divorce on the ground of cruelty.
(Names changed to protect the couple's identity)