Repeated threats by a spouse to commit suicide amount to cruelty, the Bombay High Court has said, granting divorce to a man.
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad, in its order passed last week, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday, said that when such conduct is repeated, it becomes impossible for the other spouse to continue the matrimonial relationship.
The order was passed on a plea filed by the man challenging a 2019 order of the family court rejecting his application for divorce.
As per the petition, the man got married in 2006, but he and his wife have been living separately since 2012 due to marital discord.
The man claimed that desertion and suspicion, as well as threatening and attempting to commit suicide, were grounds to grant him a divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.
The bench in its order said that the couple has been residing separately for over a decade, and neither an amicable settlement nor reconciliation was possible between them.
The court said the man had referred to several instances of cruelty, but the family court did not consider those.
The bench referred to a Supreme Court judgment that said threats of suicide by a spouse amount to cruelty.
"When such conduct is repeated, whether through words, signs or gestures, it becomes impossible for the other spouse to continue in the matrimonial relationship in a peaceful environment," HC said.
The allegations of suspicion and the attempt to commit suicide indicate the wife's conduct towards the husband, the court said.
The high court said it was no longer possible for the couple to live together and hence a decree of divorce deserved to be granted.
"Continuation of such a marriage would only perpetuate the cruelty, which the parties are inflicting on each other," HC said.
Granting divorce to the man, the bench directed him to pay Rs 25 lakh and transfer ownership of two flats to the woman as final settlement.
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