Jaipur family court dissolves 32-year-old marriage on grounds of cruelty and desertion by wife

Jaipur: A Family Court in Jaipur has dissolved a 32-year-old marriage after accepting the husband’s petition on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. Family Court-I, presided over by Judge Aarti Bhardwaj, passed a decree of divorce, declaring the marriage solemnised on April 29, 1994 as dissolved.

In its order, the court held that the conduct of the wife subjected the husband to mental and physical cruelty. The court further recorded that both parties had been living separately for nearly eight years and that there was no material on record to show that they had cohabited after October 2017. The wife herself, on multiple occasions, admitted that she had been living separately from her husband for a long period.

Advocate D.S. Shekhawat, appearing in the matter, stated that the court took note of continuous disputes between the parties relating to property, which had made the marital relationship extremely bitter. The wife had raised claims regarding partition of property and had initiated several criminal and civil proceedings against the husband. However, the court found that she failed to place any cogent documentary evidence on record in support of her allegations.

The court also observed that in her reply and affidavit of examination-in-chief, the wife did not deny several material facts. It was further noted that no petition for restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act was filed by the wife, which the court treated as an indication of lack of genuine intention to continue the marital relationship.

On an overall appreciation of the evidence, the Family Court held that the ingredients of cruelty and desertion stood proved under Sections 13(1)(i-a) and 13(1)(i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act. Consequently, the court allowed the husband’s petition and granted a decree of divorce, dissolving the marriage solemnised on April 29, 1994.