Filing False Criminal Complaints and Living Separately Amount to Cruelty: Madras HC Grants Divorce to Husband
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Filing False Criminal Complaints and Living Separately Amount to Cruelty: Madras HC Grants Divorce to Husband
By
Law Trend
March 30, 2026 2:47 PM
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dissolved the marriage between a couple from Thoothukudi, setting aside a Family Court order that had previously dismissed the husband’s divorce petition. The Division Bench, comprising Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan and Justice R. Poornima, held that the wife had subjected the husband to cruelty by initiating criminal proceedings with “grave allegations” after the divorce petition was filed.
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Background
The appellant (husband) and the respondent (wife) were married on June 11, 2000, and have two daughters born in 2002. In 2007, the family moved to Hyderabad for the husband’s employment. The husband alleged that the wife’s behavior later became “abnormal and aggressive,” including damaging household articles and threatening suicide. He further alleged that the wife developed an illicit intimacy with an individual named Ramesh and deserted the family.
The husband filed H.M.O.P.No.20 of 2020 under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, seeking divorce on the ground of cruelty. On October 21, 2020, the Family Court, Thoothukudi, dismissed the petition. The Trial Court found that the husband failed to prove the allegation of adultery and concluded that by living together for a few days during the pendency of the petition, the husband had “condoned the alleged acts of cruelty.”
Arguments of the Parties
Appellant (Husband): Counsel for the appellant argued that the Trial Court failed to appreciate the “persistent harassment and cruelty” which resulted in the husband developing a heart ailment. He contended that subsequent meetings or short stays with the respondent could not be construed
[30/03, 16:15] Meta AI: The Madras High Court has granted divorce to a husband, citing that the wife’s actions, including filing false criminal complaints and living separately, constitute mental cruelty. The court held that the husband had established cruelty, noting the wife’s neglect, separation, and initiation of criminal proceedings with serious allegations against him and his family. ¹ ² ³
The couple, married in 2000, had two daughters. The husband alleged the wife’s behavior became aggressive, and she deserted the family. The Family Court initially dismissed the divorce petition, but the High Court overturned this decision, stating the trial court failed to consider the wife’s subsequent conduct.
The High Court emphasized that brief cohabitation doesn’t condone earlier cruelty, especially when harassment continues. The wife’s domestic violence complaint, later dismissed, weakened her case. The husband’s heart ailment, caused by mental stress, further supported his claim. ⁴
Would you like to know more about the implications of this ruling or the process for filing a divorce petition?
