A division bench comprising Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal ruled that in the absence of concrete evidence, allegations of cruelty cannot be established. Moreover, if the spouse forgives the act, it cannot form valid grounds for divorce under Section 23(1)(b) of the Hindu Marriage Act. Consequently, the court upheld the Family Court’s order and rejected the husband’s appeal.
The case involves a couple from Janjgir. The husband married a woman from Sargaon, Mungeli, on December 11, 2020. Their daughter was born in October 2022, after which marital tensions reportedly escalated.
The husband alleged that his wife harassed him through calls from three unknown numbers and threatened to circulate obscene videos. He claimed that the wife left the marital home on March 29, 2023. Subsequently, he filed for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act in the Family Court on April 4, 2023. The court dismissed the petition on August 20, 2024, stating that cruelty was not proven.
In his appeal to the High Court, the husband claimed that his wife possessed multiple SIM cards and had threatened him over alleged dowry and property issues. The wife denied all allegations, asserting that she had only separated due to disputes involving the husband and his brother and expressed willingness to continue living with him.
The High Court noted that from November 2022 to March 29, 2023, the couple lived together despite the alleged incidents, indicating that the husband had forgiven any claimed cruelty. With no evidence to substantiate mental or physical cruelty, the court concluded that such forgiveness bars divorce claims on this ground.
The ruling reinforces that in marital disputes, forgiven acts of cruelty cannot be treated as valid legal grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.
