Irretrievable breakdown of marriage and mental cruelty are valid grounds for granting divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.

JUDGMENT

Ritu Bahri, J. (Oral) - C.M. No. 26398-CII-2018

1. For the reasons mentioned in the application, delay of 30 days in filing of the appeal is condoned.

2. The application stands allowed,

FAONo. M-347-2018

3. The present appeal has been filed against the judgment and decree dated 25.09.2018 passed by learned District Judge, Additional Family court,Hisar, vide which petition filed under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short 'Act 1955') by the respondent-husband has been allowed.

4. Brief facts of the case are that marriage between the parties was solemnized on 16.02.1991 according to Hindu rites and ceremonies at Village Agroha, Tehsil and District Hisar. No child was born out of this wedlock. However, the appellant-wife left the house of the respondent-husband on 18.02.1991. The appellant-wife thereafter started moving applications to the police against the respondent-husband and his family members. F.I.R NO. 154 dated 11.07.1995 under Section 498-A/506 IPC was registered against the respondent-husband and his family members, in which they were acuqitted, vide judgment dated 20.03.2001. Another F.I.R No. 257 dated 31.08.1997 under Sections 323/326/452/506/148/149 IPC at P.S. Agroha was also registered, in which the respondent-husband and family members were released on probation, vide judgment dated 20.05.2009. The appellant-wife also filed an application under Section 125 Cr.P.C. Thereafter, the respondenthusband filed divorce petition. However during the pendency of this petition, another case under Sections 376-A/452 IPC bearing F.I.R No. 2 dated 02.01.2011 against the respondent-husband was registered, in which he was also acquitted on 16.09.2011.

5. After going through the judgment and decree dated 25.09.2018 and after hearing learned counsel for the parties at length, the present appeal deserves to be dismissed.

6. It is not in dispute that the appellant-wife stayed with the respondent-husband only for some time and thereafter, she started giving complaints against the respondent-husband and his family members. However, the respondent-husband and his family members were acquitted from the charges framed against them. The marriage is of the year 1991 and as and when the appellant-wife gets an opportunity, she tries to involve the respondent-husband and his family members. The cruel nature of the appellantwife is clear from the fact that she was interested in getting the respondenthusband punished by making complaints time and again. She went up to the extent that she tried to implicate him for the offence under Section 376-A of IPC.

7. Reference at this stage can be made to a judgment of Hon'ble the Supreme Court of India in a case of Chandra Kala Trivedi vs. Dr. S.P. Trivedi, 1993 (4) SCC 232 wherein Hon'ble the Supreme Court while considering a case where marriage was irretrievably broken down and held that in these case, the decree of divorce can be granted where both the parties have levelled such allegations against each other that the marriage appears to be practically dead and the parties cannot live together.

8. Reference at this stage can be made to a judgment of three Judge Bench of Hon'ble the Supreme Court of India in case of A Jayachandra vs. Aneel Kaur, 2005 (2) SCC 22 wherein Hon'ble the Supreme Court had an occasion to consider the case of divorce on the basis of cruelty including mental cruelty. While examing the pleadings and evidence brought on record, the Court emphasized that the allegation of cruelty is of such nature in which resumption of marriage is not possible, however, referring to various decisions, the Court observed that irretrievable breaking down of marraige is not one of statutory grounds on which Court can direct dissolution of marriage, but the Court with a view to do complete justice and shorten the agony of the parties engaged in longdrawn legal battle, directed in those cases dissolution of marriage. In para 17, it has been observed as under:-

17. Several decisions, as no