A bare allegation of cruelly without anything concrete is certainly not sufficient to snap the tie of marriage.
Concept of cruelty is a matrimonial offence and the legislatures had tagged a caveat to the effect that it has to be interpreted and applied in each case on the basis of the particular facts of that case. A bare allegation of cruelly without anything concrete is certainly not sufficient to snap the tie of marriage.
Much stress is laid now on an incident of insult by the wife to the husband but the learned Judge on appreciation of the materials on record found that this incident of insult took place because of sincere desire on the part of the wife to live with her husband and not to cause any injury or mental agony to the husband. It is very diffi-cult to find a perfect couple or a perfect husband and wife. There may be some fight at some point of time and mutual insult may also be there but that cannot be made a ground to snap the tie of marriage. If that is allowed the very concept of Hindu Marriage shall fall through. Here is a wife who is willing 'to go back to her husband but husband is not inclined to take her back. It cannot be said that it is a dead marriage. Both are young and can start life afresh.
Much stress is laid now on an incident of insult by the wife to the husband but the learned Judge on appreciation of the materials on record found that this incident of insult took place because of sincere desire on the part of the wife to live with her husband and not to cause any injury or mental agony to the husband. It is very diffi-cult to find a perfect couple or a perfect husband and wife. There may be some fight at some point of time and mutual insult may also be there but that cannot be made a ground to snap the tie of marriage. If that is allowed the very concept of Hindu Marriage shall fall through. Here is a wife who is willing 'to go back to her husband but husband is not inclined to take her back. It cannot be said that it is a dead marriage. Both are young and can start life afresh.
Gauhati High Court
Gouri Shankar Chakravarty vs Smt. Basana Roy on 24 July, 1998
Equivalent citations: II (1998) DMC 630
