The Court was hearing an appeal filed by the husband challenging a July 2017 order of a family court at Sheikhpura dismissing his plea for divorce.
As per the husband’s plea, he had married with his first wife in 1978. However, since her behaviour towards him changed following the birth of his daughter, the couple started living separately. In 2004, he got married for the second time and also took the prior consent of his first wife.
Subsequently in 2010, the first wife initiated legal action by filing a complaint under Section 498A and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. She also lodged a second criminal case against him under Section 498A.
The husband, therefore, applied for anticipatory bail in both the cases. The High Court granted him relief but with a directive to pay ₹5,000 per month to his first wife as a maintenance. An additional amount of ₹5 lakh was ordered to be paid towards the marriage of his daughter.
The daughter’s marriage took place in 2013 after which he requested his wife to file her consent for mutual divorce. The same was, however, rejected.
He then filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. He alleged that the cases filed by his wife were false and intended to harass him.
The family court rejected the plea prompting the present appeal before the High Court.
The High Court ruled that the husband failed to prove that the two cases filed by his first wife against him under Section 498A were false and fabricated and they were lodged in order to harass him.
“As such, we find that there is no merit in the present appeal warranting any interference in the impugned judgment. The Family Court has rightly dismissed the matrimonial case of the husband seeking divorce. The present appeal is dismissed,” the bench said.
With these observations, it dismissed the appeal filed by the husband.
Source: Barandbench
