The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently ruled that repeatedly taunting a husband for being unemployed, especially during financial hardship, constitutes mental cruelty, thus providing legitimate grounds for divorce. This landmark ruling, delivered by a division bench of Justices Rajani Dubey and Amitendra Kishore Prasad on August 18, 2025, highlights the evolving understanding of mental cruelty in matrimonial disputes and recognizes that psychological abuse can affect men as well.
The case in question involved a husband whose divorce petition was initially dismissed by a family court in Durg. He then appealed to the High Court, which overturned the lower court's decision after reviewing the evidence presented. The High Court noted that the wife's behavior towards her husband changed significantly after she obtained a Ph.D. and secured a high-paying job as a school principal. She allegedly became disrespectful, frequently taunted him for being unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and engaged in repeated verbal altercations over trivial matters. The court stated that these acts, including insults and humiliation during a time of financial vulnerability, clearly amounted to mental cruelty as recognized under law.
The court further noted the wife's conduct in creating hostility between the children and the father, making unreasonable demands during a financially unstable period, and ultimately leaving the matrimonial home with their daughter while abandoning their son. A letter from the wife expressing her intent to permanently sever ties with her husband and son was also presented as evidence. The wife did not contest the divorce petition, never filing a written statement or appearing in court. The High Court considered her absence and failure to rebut the allegations as strengthening the husband's claims.
The ruling references Section 13(1)(i-a) and (i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, finding that the wife's conduct constituted both mental cruelty and desertion. The judgment also draws upon Supreme Court precedents that have broadened the definition of mental cruelty to include emotional and psychological abuse, not just physical violence.
Legal experts have noted that this ruling reinforces the evolving jurisprudence that recognizes men as potential victims of marital mental cruelty, challenging traditional gender biases in Indian family law. The High Court's decision acknowledges that economic upheavals, such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, can exacerbate familial tensions and lead to emotional suffering for men in matrimonial disputes. The court held that the marriage had irretrievably broken down and set aside the family court's order, granting a decree of divorce in favor of the husband.
