Latest Judgement

An article researched and authored by Advocate Aarun Chanda

1. The Hon’ble High Court of Orrisa, granted divorce to a husband facing multiple false FIR’s filed by the wife with the sole purpose of throwing her husband and in laws out of her matrimonial home. The wife had repeatedly threatened the husband that she will commit suicide and this caused severe distress to the husband. The Hon’ble High Court of Orrisa observed that repeated threats of suicide and threats to harm the spouse and his family members, emotional outbursts, gross misuse of emotional vulnerability is a blatant form of psychological warfare. Such behavior results into severe psychological scars on the aggrieved spouse.
2. In the decided matter, the wife had pressurised the husband to sever ties with his family and demanded complete financial control by insisting that she be made beneficiary of all his insurance policies etc. The wife needlessly quarrelled with the husband. The wife’s father in the husband’s absence gave his properties on rent and enjoyed the fruits of the husband’s rental earnings.
3. The Hon’ble Family Court situated at Cuttack, had granted divorce to the husband on the grounds of the wife’s quarrelsome nature, attempt to gain complete financial control, intimidating the husband/his parents and her attempt to throwing her in laws out of their own home with the help of anti-social elements amounts to mental cruelty.
4. The wife filed an appeal before the Hon’ble Orissa High Court, against the divorce decree passed by the Hon’ble Family Court, Cuttack, contending that the lower court errored that filing multiple legal proceedings against the husband and his parents amounted to mental cruelty. The wife contended that filing multiple legal cases cannot amount to mental cruelty, as it was her right to adopt all legal remedies to safeguard her interests.
5. The Hon’ble Orissa High Court observed filing of multiple legal cases by the wife may not in all the cases amount to mental cruelty, however when judicial machinery is used to harass and cause mental distress to the opposite spouse, then such conduct results into mental cruelty.
6. The Hon’ble Orissa High Court observed that the wife’s act of filing 45 FIR along with multiple civil and criminal proceedings against the husband and his family members amounts to harassment and mental cruelty. The Court observed that filing cases in such a high number shows systematic harassment of the husband through vexatious litigation and it does not reflect any effort to genuine pursuit of justice by the wife. Frequent filing of cases and their vexatious nature amounts to systematic pressurization and mental stress upon the husband.
7. The husband had to resign from his high-paying service in a reputed company with the sole purpose of attending court proceedings. The wife’s act of filing multiple cases disrupted the husband’s capability to attend to his service diligently on a day-to-day basis.
8. The court observed that the wife on several occasions assaulted the husband and he suffered bleeding injuries. The wife repeatedly abused her husband’s parents, assaulted his mother and locked them out of their own house.
9. Wife repeated threats of suicide is a calculated act of manipulation and an attempt to psychologically control her husband. Such illegal acts on part of the wife resulted into emotional blackmailing and psychological oppression of the husband and his family members, which made it impossible for the husband to live peacefully in a dignified matrimonial life.
10. The Hon’ble Court observed that the wife’s contradictory acts of filing restitution petitions and domestic violence cases & criminal complaints shows her true nature and intentions. The wife’s acts was an eyewash and far from reconciliation. The wife was found guilty of causing emotional exhaustion and harassment to the husband and his family. The wife had a control freak attitude towards the husband.
11. The wife’s appeal was dismissed and divorce decree confirmed.

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