What All Can Be Counted As Cruelty For Divorce? 91-8877001993

In a recent case decided by the Chhattisgarh High Court, which illustrates the fine line between personal struggles and professional duties, the court dealt with a peculiar matter of divorce when the station master’s quarrel with his wife resulted in a train being unintentional redirected to a Maoist affected area. The incident, which stirred a lot of controversy, was also the reason for the courts granting divorce on the basis of cruelty against husband.

Cruelty for Divorce: About

• When speaking of the law governing divorce in a marriage, cruelty means some action or behaviour done by one spouse and directed to the other, which results in some form of psychological or physical trauma and ultimately results in situations where the afflicted partner Does not have to live with the Partner who is abusive in wrongful conditions. 
• Cruelty is considered one of the reasons for the dissolution of marriage in most states. 
• However, the interpretation and scope of application are often governed by specific legal provisions of the country or state in question.

Why in the News?

• On one such night, a station master stationed in Visakhapatnam, while on her duty, was having an argument with her husband over the phone, and the conversation ended with him saying, “We will talk when we get home, OK?” while thinking the call has ended. 
• A fellow employee of the station who was unable to understand, interpreted the 'OK' as permission to move off a goods train into a prohibited area that had Maoist insurgents operating in it. 
• Luckily, there were no accidents, however, the blunder caused Indian Railways to incur a penalty of Rs 3 crore as fines for breaking the night prohibition law.
• After his suspension, the station master moved a family court in Visakhapatnam seeking dissolution of their marriage on the basis of cruelty against husband. In retaliation, his wife lodged complaints against him and his family members. 
• Subsequently, she approached the Supreme Court and prayed for the transfer of the case to Durg, her place of residence, on the grounds of alleged threats to her life.

Contentions by the Parties

Appellant:

• The appellant-husband's counsel contended that right from the day of their marriage reception, the wife who was also the respondent was unhappy about the marriage and on top of that, she told him about her involvement with the librarian of her Engineering College who she had sexual relations.
• In addition, it was argued that instead of maintaining a conjugal relationship with the appellant, the respondent would engage in telephone conversations with her lover and ridicule the appellant. Moreover, she avoided any form of wifely duty and often argued with him for trivial reasons.
• The counsel for the appellant cited an example of an irate marital discord which made the appellant to fail in properly performing his professional duties. On 22.03.2012, the wife started shouting at the husband on the telephone while he was in duty. The husband however retorted that he would speak to her on that very day after work and concluded the conversation by saying 'OK'.
• It is alleged that that particular utterance of the word ‘OK’ made the other on duty Station Master to presume that the appellant had opened the lines for a goods train and so, in response, he gave the ‘green signal’ to the train which drove into a Maoists inhabited area which trains were prohibited from entering between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM.

Respondent:

• The wife, respondent herein stated that the appellant-husband and his kins subjected her to cruelty in the name of dowry. 
• In addition, she made a claim that the appellant was in a relationship with his sister-in-law which traumatized her. 
• The appellant and his relatives were reported in an FIR filed by hostile due to the ill-treatment she was suffering to Police under Section 85 of BNS.

Decision of the Court

• The bench noted that the wife's contention over the phone, which resulted in the ‘OK’ episode, and her frivolous allegations were treated as "cruelty" to her husband by the bench.
• Finding the wife's claims in relation to the husband regarding extra-marital affairs, dowry harassment and cruelty unsubstantiated, the High Court granted her divorced to the husband and observed that her constant bickering, untrue complaints and unfounded accusations constituted ‘mental cruelty’.

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