Thane, Jan 29: The Thane District Sessions Court has granted divorce to a 40-year-old man on the grounds of mental cruelty after holding that his wife’s extramarital affair caused severe emotional trauma, even though the court refused to rely on WhatsApp chats and photographs submitted as evidence due to legal non-compliance.
While allowing the petition, the court ruled that the electronic evidence produced by the husband — consisting of WhatsApp conversations and objectionable photographs allegedly showing his estranged wife with another man — was inadmissible as it was not accompanied by the mandatory certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act.
However, the court observed that even in the absence of admissible electronic evidence, the very fact that the wife was involved in an affair amounted to mental cruelty under matrimonial law.
Marriage and allegations
According to the case records, the petitioner, the husband, married the respondent on December 14, 2017, before the Marriage Registrar, Thane, under the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Following the marriage, the couple resided at Mira Road and later shifted to Kashimira in Mira Road (East).
The husband alleged that the wife had suppressed material facts at the time of marriage, including that she was a widow and had a daughter from her first marriage. Despite this, he had still accepted both the wife and her child and took responsibility for their care. The couple later solemnised their marriage again as per Christian rites and rituals.
Claims of cruelty
The husband alleged that his wife was dominating in nature and frequently picked fights over trivial matters. He claimed she disrespected and humiliated him in public, consumed alcohol at home in front of the children, and physically and verbally abused him.
He further stated that she prevented his parents from entering their house and restricted him from financially supporting them. During her pregnancy, he claimed to have taken care of her, following which she gave birth to a son in November 2018.
According to the petition, the wife had maintained a relationship with another man, which severely affected the man’s mental health, causing depression and sleep disorders. Due to continued harassment, he left the matrimonial home in November 2021. Despite separation, he continued to bear expenses for the wife and children but was allegedly denied access to his son.
The husband further claimed that the wife demanded divorce and threatened to implicate him and his family in false criminal cases.
Proceedings before the court
Although the respondent appeared before the court, she failed to file a written statement or contest the petition. As a result, the matter proceeded without her defence from October 12, 2023.
While deciding on the decree of divorce, the court maintained that electronic evidence was not permissible to be adduced as evidence before the court. It noted: “The certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act is not filed on record. Hence, the said WhatsApp chats and photographs are inadmissible in evidence.”
The court further held that the material placed on record was insufficient to conclusively prove that the respondent had shared an intimate relationship with another person. However, the judge clarified that the existence of an extramarital affair itself constitutes mental cruelty.
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“The fact that the respondent is having an affair with another person is itself a sort of mental cruelty,” the court observed.
Taking into account that the husband’s testimony remained unchallenged and that there was no reason to disbelieve his evidence, the court concluded that the respondent had subjected the petitioner to mental cruelty.
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