MUMBAI: Accusing a man of having illicit relations with his sister and sister-in-law is mental cruelty and grounds for divorce, ruled the Bombay high court.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Revati Dere held that the woman had made it impossible for her estranged husband to live with her and conformed the divorce granted to the couple, who are now grandparents. Mulund residents Rajesh and Shanti Shah (names changed) have been at loggerheads for around four decades.
Shanti admitted that she had made those allegations through letters, but claimed it was her outburst against the cruel treatment meted to her by her husband. The HC also upheld the family court order granting divorce on the ground of desertion. "Once we have come to the conclusion that the wife made it impossible for him to live in the house by her conduct, it can be safely inferred that he was compelled to abandon the house on account of the said conduct," the court said.
Rajesh and Shanti had got married in 1971, and have two sons, who are now in their forties. According to Rajesh, they used to often have fights as she did not want to live with his parents. Later, they got their own place, but the fights continued with Rajesh now accusing her of turning their sons against him. In 1993, Rajesh moved out of the house, and after three years filed a petition for divorce.
In 2005, a family court granted him divorce, but Shanti approached the HC to challenge the order.
