Calcutta High Court rules husband can seek divorce if wife compels him to move away from parents

In a recent ruling, the Calcutta High Court has held that a husband has the right to seek divorce if his wife forces him to leave his parents.

The court stated that a son has a "pious obligation" to look after his parents, and that divorce can be granted on the grounds of mental cruelty if the wife tries to separate the man from his parents without any justifiable reason.

The court added that it is entirely normal for a son to live with his parents in Indian culture and ethos.

The division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar rejected a woman's appeal last month, which contested the family court's decision to grant her husband a divorce.

Know about the case details:

The case goes back to 2009, when a family court in West Midnapore granted Prashant Kumar Mandal divorce from his wife Jharna on grounds of cruelty. The woman appealed the order, which led to the hearing before the high court bench.

According to the family court's decision, Jharna had been publicly insulting Prashant, calling him unemployed and a coward since their marriage in 2001. Prashant, who worked part-time as a teacher and a private tutor, would sometimes ask Jharna to assist with their finances.

Jharna, in turn, filed a criminal case against him and his parents, accusing them of torture, which eventually thwarted Prashant's attempt to secure a government job