In a significant ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has declared that a man coercing his wife into resigning from her job constitutes cruelty, thereby granting the woman’s request for a divorce. The decision comes after the Family Court had earlier rejected her plea.
The case involved a 33-year-old woman employed as a manager in a Central government enterprise who sought legal separation on the grounds of mental harassment by her husband. Her husband insisted she abandon her professional career and relocate to Bhopal to be with him. The High Court’s judgment, issued on November 13 by Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, reversed the lower court’s ruling.
The bench emphasized the autonomy of individual spouses in a marriage, stating, “Whether a husband or wife wishes to live together is their choice. Neither party can compel the other not to work, or dictate the terms of their employment. In this case, the husband’s insistence that his wife quit her government job until he found employment himself is deemed a form of cruelty.”
