The Jharkhand High Court has granted divorce to a woman who was repeatedly humiliated by her husband and in-laws over photographs from her past. The photos showed her with a person she had been in a relationship with before marriage.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai noted that the woman’s husband had taken the so-called “objectionable” photographs from her Google Drive and circulated them among his family members.
“By showing those objectionable photographs to his family members by the respondent-husband and on the basis of that she was being humiliated by the family members of the respondent-husband, which is nothing but the character assassination of the wife by her own husband,” the Court opined.
The Jharkhand High Court passed the ruling while hearing an appeal filed by a 32-year-old woman who got married in 2020. She had earlier approached a family court seeking divorce, but her plea was rejected in 2023.
As per the case, the day after the marriage, the husband checked the woman’s mobile phone while she was asleep and came across certain photographs from her past relationship. He allegedly transferred those photos to his own phone and threatened to upload them on social media. The woman also claimed that she was subjected to torture by her husband.
The husband, however, denied the allegations. He told the court that he was willing to accept his wife even after learning about her past relationship, adding that she had not disclosed it to him before marriage.
While the High Court found no concrete evidence to support the woman’s allegations of physical assault, it emphasised that cruelty is not limited to physical harm and can also be mental in nature. The Bench observed that the husband’s actions caused serious mental suffering to the wife, making it impossible for her to continue living with him.
Holding that the bond of trust between the couple had completely broken, the Court set aside the family court’s order and granted the woman a divorce on the ground of mental cruelty under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act.
Advocate Sanjay Prasad appeared for the wife, while advocates Abhijeet Kr Singh, Shashank Kumar and Harsh Chandra represented the husband.
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