Wife’s False Adultery Allegation Against Husband, Abuse Amounted To Cruelty: Karnataka HC Upholds Divorce

The husband petitioned for divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion.

The Family Court allowed the petition on cruelty but dismissed it on desertion, dissolving the marriage.

The wife appealed, contending that the finding of cruelty was erroneous

During the appeal, the parties reached a compromise in the wife’s maintenance proceedings under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

The compromise addressed maintenance and transfer of land but did not expressly provide for withdrawal of the appeal.

The husband’s counsel submitted that the wife had agreed to withdraw it; the wife’s counsel stated that she had not signed the prepared withdrawal memo and was no longer communicating with counsel

The appeal was brought under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act

The Family Court dissolved the marriage on the ground of cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; the High Court reviewed that determination on appeal

The judgment does not identify a specific section of the Hindu Marriage Act, state a separate legal test for cruelty, or cite any precedent.

It also notes that the wife’s maintenance proceedings had been brought under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

The High Court inferred from counsel’s submissions and the wife’s conduct that she was not interested in prosecuting the appeal, while acknowledging that the compromise itself did not record an agreement to withdraw it

Independently, the Court considered the merits and found no error in the Family Court’s assessment of the evidence.

The Family Court had found that the wife and her relatives quarrelled with and abused the husband, and that she made false allegations of adultery and harassment; the High Court concluded that the evidence supported those findings and justified treating the conduct as cruelty

Pending interlocutory applications were disposed of as not surviving for consideration