The Chhattisgarh High Court has dismissed a man's appeal seeking divorce from his wife, holding that his allegations that she called him dark-complexioned and overweight did not amount to sufficient grounds for dissolving the marriage.

A division bench of Justice Parth Prateem Sahu and Justice Sachin Singh Rajput upheld the Family Court's decision rejecting the husband's divorce plea. The bench also upheld the direction requiring him to return his wife's streedhan, including gifts and other assets given to her by her parents.

The High Court had reserved its order on June 25 and pronounced it on September 18.

The appeal was filed by Aksh Ghosh, 28, a resident of Janjgir-Champa district, challenging the August 28, 2024 judgment of the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Janjgir.

Ghosh and Pooja Seet, 25, from Raigarh district, married on March 7, 2019. According to the High Court's order, the wife stayed with her husband and his family for around two to three months after the marriage.

Ghosh alleged that during this period, his wife behaved hostilely, threatened to implicate him in false cases and frequently visited her parental home. He also claimed that she travelled to Rajasthan for a relative's wedding without his consent and returned around 25 days later.

He further stated that she subsequently suffered a miscarriage of twins. According to him, her mother later took her to Raigarh and she refused to return despite his repeated attempts to bring her back.

The wife denied the allegations, except for the fact of their marriage. She alleged that her husband was in an illicit relationship with another woman and started consuming alcohol after she came to know about it.

She also accused him of abusing her and failing to take proper care of her, including by not providing adequate medical treatment during her pregnancy. She said that when she fell ill, her mother took her to a hospital in Raigarh.

According to the wife, she later repeatedly asked her husband and his family to take her back, but they refused. Her mother subsequently lodged a complaint with the Raigarh Superintendent of Police on February 24, 2020. The wife also initiated proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act against her husband and his family before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Raigarh.

She maintained that her husband himself was unwilling to continue the matrimonial relationship because of his alleged relationship with another woman.

After examining the evidence, the High Court held that the husband had failed to prove cruelty or desertion by his wife.

"Though the appellant/husband has made several allegations against the respondent/wife yet none of them have been substantiated by leading any cogent evidence," the court said.

The bench also rejected the husband's allegation that his wife used to describe him as "black complexioned" or "fatty-shaped", observing that such allegations could not be treated as sufficient grounds for granting divorce.

The court further held that Ghosh failed to establish that his wife was living with her parents without reasonable cause. It also found that he could not prove the required animus deserendi, or intention to desert, on her part.

The High Court concluded that the Family Court had properly appreciated the evidence before rejecting the divorce petition and found no reason to interfere with its judgment.

The appeal was accordingly dismissed without costs, and the court directed that the decree be drawn accordingly.