Mental cruelty, as defined under Hindu Marriage Act, can irreparably damage the trust and respect in marriage, providing sufficient grounds for divorce even without physical violence.

JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

1. The instant appeal under Section 19(1) of the Family Court Act, 1984 is directed against the judgment dated 19^th September, 2023 and decree signed on 3^rd October, 2023 passed by the learned Additional Principal Judge, Additional Family Court No. II, Dhanbad in Original Suit No. 914 of 2021, whereby and whereunder, the suit filed by the petitioner-appellant [wife] for dissolution of marriage by decree of divorce u/s 13(1)(i-a) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 against respondent/husband, has been dismissed.

2. The brief facts of the case leading to filing of the divorce petition by the appellant-petitioner, as taken note in the impugned order and as emanated from the plaint, needs to be referred herein, which reads as under:

3. The appellant has legally married with the respondent and their marriage was solemnized on 13-03-2020, at Jhari, Dhanbad, according to Hindu Rites and Customs. After the marriage both the appellant and respondent had been living together as wife and husband at M.C. Road, Raniganj, Burdwan. It is further stated that at the time of marriage the father of the petitioner had given Rs.4,75,000/ cash and ornaments as dowry.

4. It is stated that after one day of marriage when the petitioner-appellant was sleeping in her bedroom, the respondent started checking the mobile phone of the petitioner-appellant and while checking some objectionable photographs were seen by the respondent-husband saved in mobile of the petitioner-appellant, which by mistake she could not remove from the google drive of her mobile. It is further stated that the objectionable photo was transferred by the respondent in his mobile from petitioner's/appellant‟s mobile phone without her knowledge.

5. It is further stated that the respondent started threatening to put that objectionable photos on social media platform and started assaulting brutally, physically and mentally. In this way the respondent blackmailed the petitioner-appellant for several occasions and forced to have sex. When the petitioner-appellant opposed it, the respondent showed that objectionable photos to his parents and family members.

6. It is further stated that after this incident the petitioner-appellant informed her father and complaint against her husband. In view of this, the father of the petitioner- appellant came on 10-05-2020 along with his society members and tried to persuade the respondent not to do this kind of torture to the petitioner-appellant trying to settle the dispute but unfortunately matter was not settled.

7. It is further stated that the respondent-husband used to abuse the father of the petitioner-appellant by using filthy language and after that the respondent and his family members snatched the Stridhan of the petitioner-appellant and thrown out the petitioner-appellant and her father from the matrimonial house on 10-05-2020 and while leaving, the respondent forced her to write a letter in Bangla that "unfortunately she could accept Suman Kumar Ruj as husband but there is a cordial relationship between two families and today on dated 10-05-2020 I am leaving with my father to Maika and from today we both husband and wife will live separately and I could not claim anything in future" and by making such fake letter forcibly from the petitioner-appellant thrown the petitioner-appellant from her matrimonial house along with her father and while leaving the in-laws house, the respondent-husband threatened the petitioner-wife that if she try to come back to in-laws house again then the respondent will kill the petitioner-appellant and thereafter she is living in parenta