Bombay HC Says Repeated Suicide Threats By Spouse Amount To Cruelty; Grants Divorce With ₹25 Lakh Settlement

Mumbai, Nov 19: Repeated threats or attempts to commit suicide by a spouse amount to cruelty, the Bombay High Court has held while granting divorce to a man whose plea had earlier been rejected by a family court.

Bench Says Repeated Conduct Makes Marriage Impossible

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad, in an order passed last week and made available on Wednesday, said that when such conduct is repeated, “it becomes impossible for the other spouse to continue in the matrimonial relationship in a peaceful environment”.

Man Challenged 2019 Order Denying Divorce

The man had challenged a 2019 family court order refusing him divorce. He said he married in 2006, but the couple had lived separately since 2012 due to marital discord. He sought divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act on grounds including cruelty, desertion, suspicion and repeated threats and attempts by his wife to end her life.

HC Refers to Supreme Court Ruling on Suicide Threats

The HC noted the couple had been living apart for over a decade, with no possibility of reconciliation. It said the man had cited several instances of cruelty which the family court had failed to consider. Referring to a Supreme Court ruling that suicide threats can constitute cruelty, the bench said such behaviour, when recurring through “words, signs or gestures,” seriously affects the mental peace of the other spouse.

Court Notes Marriage Has Irretrievably Broken Down

The court observed that allegations of suspicion and attempts to commit suicide reflected the wife’s conduct towards the husband, making it impossible for them to cohabit.

“Continuation of such a marriage would only perpetuate the cruelty which the parties are inflicting on each other,” it said, concluding that the marriage had irretrievably broken down.

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Divorce Granted With Monetary and Property Settlement

Allowing the plea, the court granted a decree of divorce and directed the man to pay Rs 25 lakh to his wife and transfer ownership of two flats to her as full and final settlement.

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