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Divorce Cannot Be Granted On The Grounds Of Filing of Criminal Case and Acquittal Therein If It was Not The Basis For Seeking Divorce
In the case of Mangayakarasi v. M. Yuvaraj, the Supreme Court bench of Justice R. Banumathi, S. Abdul Nazeer and AS Bopanna considered an appeal against the granting of divorce to a man on the ground that the complaint filed against him by the wife amounted to acquittal, even though the divorce plea was not based on such a ground.
The High Court allowed the second appeal granting divorce to a man on the ground that the complaint filed by the wife againstb him resulted in acquittal, even though this ground was not the basis for the divorce plea.
The Court observed that the divorce plea alleged the appellant using filthy language in the presence of relatives and friends and the students of the husband. The Court said that when the proceedings for dissolution of marriage were initiated by the husband, the criminal case against him was not the basis but a ground of mental cruelty by filing such criminal complaint was raised. Since this situation was not the basis for initiating the petition for divorce, nor was it an issue before the trail court so as to take a decision. Hence, the High Court was not justified in arriving at its conclusion in this regard.
Contrary to the view of the High Court, the bench said that if the tenor of the substantial questions of law is approved, it would be against the statutory provisions. However, in the present facts, though a criminal complaint had been lodged by the wife and the respondent has been acquitted in the said proceedings the basis on which the husband had approached the Trail Court is not of alleging mental cruelty in that regard but with regard to her unwarranted and extreme behaviour regarding which both the courts below on appreciation of the evidence had arrived at the conclusion that the same was not proved.
The bench also refused to cite Article 142 powers to dissolve the marriage observing that where differences beteween the parties are of the nature of usual wear and tear of marital life, the future of the child and marital prospects are to be considered and in such cases, filing for divorce merely because they have been litigating and living separately for some time would not be justified.
In conclusion, the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that filing of criminal case by one of the parties to the marriage and the acquittal therein cannot be automatically treated as a ground for dissolution of marriage if such a ground is not raised in the divorce petition.
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