In a landmark judgment, the Kerala High Court has declared that refusing to grant a divorce can amount to cruelty, underlining the importance of acknowledging personal anguish and the irretrievability of a marriage. This verdict came as the court overturned a previous decision by a family court that had dismissed a womanโs plea for divorce.
The case was presided over by Justices Rajvijay Raghavan and P.M. Manoj, who scrutinized the circumstances surrounding the womanโs request to dissolve her marriage. Despite her husbandโs opposition to the divorce, the woman had initially approached the family court, which had rejected her plea citing insufficient evidence of cruelty by the husband.
In their decision, the High Court criticized the family court for not adequately considering the testimonies of the woman and her daughter, both of whom expressed their inability to continue the marital relationship meaningfully. The High Court pointed out that compelling a spouse to remain in a completely disintegrated relationship constitutes cruelty and can cause more harm than good.
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The judgment emphasized that such enforced cohabitation not only inflicts emotional pain but also impedes the progress of individualsโ lives. The High Courtโs ruling reinstates the notion that personal well-being and mutual respect are paramount in marital laws, and it sets a precedent for future cases where one party is unwilling to acknowledge the breakdown of the marriage.
