The Delhi High Court upheld a family court’s decision to dissolve a marriage, ruling that the wife’s complaints to her husband’s employer amounted to cruelty. A division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar said marriage requires mutual respect, tolerance, and adjustment. The wife had accused her husband of cruelty and adultery in complaints sent to his workplace. The Court held that such derogatory remarks, regardless of their truth, were meant to humiliate the husband before colleagues and had no relevance to workplace matters. The wife argued her complaints were a desperate cry for help due to police inaction, relying on the Raj Talreja v. Kavita Talreja ruling which says complaints aren’t cruelty if justified. However, the Court rejected this, stating the allegations were baseless and aimed at harassment.
It emphasized that complaints involving unfounded adultery claims crossed the line into cruelty. The bench concluded that the wife’s actions seriously damaged the husband’s reputation, validating the divorce. The Court dismissed her appeal, affirming the earlier divorce decree.
