The Allahabad High Court has held that mere failure to take care of aged parents of a husband may not amount to cruelty since such allegations are subjective in nature.
A division bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Donadi Ramesh made these observations while dealing with a man’s appeal for divorce on the ground that his wife had failed to discharge “her moral duty” to take care of his aged parents while he used to live away while in service of the police.
The court said that the level of care that was necessary or desirable was never established by the husband. It further noted that no inhuman or cruel behaviour was pleaded by him as may have established the allegation of cruelty necessary to be proved for dissolution of marriage.
“Mere failure to take care of aged parents of a spouse that too when the spouse (husband) had chosen to live away from his matrimonial home, may never amount to cruelty. What exact situation may prevail in each household is not for the court to examine in detail or to lay down any law or principle in that regard,” added the court.
In the present case, the husband had initially moved the family court in Moradabad for divorce on the ground of cruelty on the part of wife. After hearing, the family court, Moradabad dismissed the suit for divorce filed by the husband seeking divorce from wife. Hence, he filed the present first appeal before the high court challenging the order of family court of Moradabad.
Rejecting the first appeal of husband, the high court in its decision dated July 30 added that no cruelty was made out and thus held that the trial court had not erred in dismissing the suit for divorce.
