Minor disputes in marriage do not constitute cruelty; both parties must share responsibility for marital issues, and prolonged separation indicates irretrievable breakdown.

JUDGMENT :

R.SAKTHIVEL, J.

Challenging the Judgment and Decree dated March 20, 2020 passed by the 'I Additional Family Court, Chennai' ['the Family Court' for short] in O.P.No.393 of 2018, the petitioner therein has preferred this Civil Miscellaneous Appeal.

2. Initially, the Original Petition was filed on March 23, 2017 before Family Court at Pondicherry and later transferred to the Family Court as per the Order dated October 13, 2017 of this Court made in Tr.C.M.P. No.466 of 2017.

3. For the sake of convenience, henceforth, the parties will be referred to as per their array in the Original Petition.

PETITIONER’S CASE

4. The petitioner (husband) and respondent (wife) got married on July 2, 2014 at Sri Rangam Srimath Andavan Ashram, Mylapore, Chennai, according to Hindu rites and customs. Their marriage was registered before the Marriage Officer, Sub-Registrar, Mylapore, Chennai. The respondent exhibited scornful, disrespectful, and indifferent behaviour during her brief stay at her matrimonial home in Puducherry and later in Hyderabad, where the petitioner was employed. She was sarcastic, quarrelsome, and abusive, showing no interest in their relationship beyond the petitioner's financial status. The respondent joined a job in January 2015 without informing the petitioner and misused his financial and professional status. In April 2015, the disputes escalated, prompting both sides’ family intervention, during which the respondent admitted to her behaviour. Then, she withdrew from marital companionship, removed her mangal sutra and caused mental distress, leading the petitioner to resign from his job in 2015. She frequently initiated bedtime quarrels, depriving him of sleep. Further, the petitioner secured a job in Canada and attended training in the USA from September 2015 to October 2015. At that time, he arranged paying guest accommodation for the respondent as she was not willing to reside at Pondicherry with his parents. When the petitioner returned to India, the respondent refused to join him in Puducherry. Thereafter, she attended his father's 59^th birthday function on October 18, 2015, but when urged to resume their marital life, she hurled abuses and left abruptly. In August 2016, the petitioner learnt that the respondent had moved to the USA for higher studies without informing him. His emails went unanswered. Therefore, the petitioner filed a petition for divorce on the grounds of cruelty under Section 13 (1) (i-a) of ‘the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 ’ [‘H.M. Act’ for short].

RESPONDENT'S CASE

5. The respondent admitted the marriage but denied all allegations of cruelty. She claimed that she treated the petitioner with love and care, especially when he was unwell in January 2015. She joined a multinational company with his consent and fulfilled all her household responsibilities. Their first diwali was celebrated joyfully with her parents in Mumbai, and they had a honeymoon in Kullu-Manali. According to her, interference from the petitioner's parents caused disputes. On March 15, 2015, the petitioner assaulted her, later expressing regret via email. She denied any financial exploitation and claimed that she gifted clothes to her in-laws and a DSLR Camera to the petitioner. She continued to provide marital companionship and never removed her mangal sutra. The petitioner left for Canada in July 2015, staying in Puducherry while awaiting his visa, while she remained in Hyderabad for work. Further, she attended his father’s birthday but denied any abusive behaviour on her side. She claimed that the petitioner cut off communication in April 2016 and later deserted her by moving to Canada in March 2016. She explored higher education options in Canada and the USA, eventually securing admission to a university in the USA, which her parents communicated to the petitioner’s family. She also informed the petitioner via Skype. Thereafter, the petitioner lost his job in Canada, returned to India in October 2016, and later found a job in Hy