Wife Subjected Husband To Mental Cruelty, His Evidence Went Unchallenged: Pune Court Grants Divorce, Says “Mere Denial Cannot Defeat Evidence”

Can a wife simply deny allegations in her written reply when she neither cross-examines the husband nor produces evidence of her own? A Pune court has granted divorce to a man after finding that his evidence of alleged mental cruelty remained unchallenged.

PUNE: A Pune district court has granted divorce to a husband after holding that the conduct attributed to his wife, taken together, amounted to mental cruelty. The court noted that the husband’s evidence remained unchallenged because the wife did not cross-examine him or his supporting witness and did not lead evidence in support of her defence.

District Judge K. V. Parit allowed the husband’s divorce petition under Section 10(x) of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869. The Christian couple had married according to Christian rites at Rahuri in Ahilyanagar in January 2021. They had no children.

According to the husband, problems developed after marriage. He alleged that his wife avoided interacting with his family members and frequently remained busy texting someone. He further alleged frequent quarrels, harassment, pressure upon him to live separately from his family, accusations against his mother and denial of physical intimacy.

The husband also referred to an incident during a movie outing when his wife allegedly received a message from the same number stating: “Miss you a lot”

He told the court that the incident caused him mental and physical pain. He further alleged that his wife accused his mother of stealing her earrings, picked fights without reason and later lodged a police complaint against him.

The wife denied the husband’s allegations in her written statement. She made counter-allegations that the husband had married her to take revenge, treated her like a maid, assaulted her and threw her out of the matrimonial home. She also relied upon the fact that she had approached the police with allegations of cruelty against him.

However, the key evidentiary issue was that these denials and counter-allegations were not supported by evidence. The wife did not cross-examine the husband or his supporting witness, nor did she enter the witness box to lead her own evidence. Her lawyer was also absent when arguments were heard.

The court consequently found that the husband’s positive evidence had remained unchallenged. It held, in substance, that merely denying allegations in a written statement could not rebut evidence given before the court and left unchallenged.

After considering the allegations collectively, the court concluded that the husband had established mental cruelty by the wife and was entitled to dissolution of the marriage. The court accordingly dissolved the marriage by a decree of divorce under the Indian Divorce Act.

EXPLANATORY TABLE OF LAWS AND SECTIONS

CASE DETAILS

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A husband’s evidence cannot be dismissed by mere denial. If not rebutted, the court can rely on it.
• Mental cruelty against men is still cruelty. Marriage is no licence to humiliate or mentally exhaust a husband.
• Counter-allegations need proof. Accusations alone cannot defeat a husband’s divorce case.
• Men should not be trapped in mentally destructive marriages.
• Evidence must matter more than gendered sympathy. Courts must decide on proof.