Chennai, Sept 5:
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has granted divorce to a couple who had been married for 34 years but lived separately for 16 years, holding that prolonged separation, absence of cohabitation and a complete breakdown of meaningful marital ties could amount to cruelty.
A Division Bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and MD Sumathi passed the order while allowing an appeal filed by the husband against a Sivaganga family court order that had refused to dissolve the marriage. The couple married in September 1992 and have four children.
The husband had sought divorce alleging adultery by his wife. The High Court noted that adultery is a ground for divorce under Section 13(1)(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, but said the court must also ensure that the petitioner was not taking advantage of his own wrong. It further pointed out that when adultery is alleged, the alleged paramour must be made a party to the proceedings.
The family court had reasoned that the husband had contributed to the alleged situation by leaving his wife in Sivaganga when he moved to Mumbai for employment. The High Court rejected that reasoning, observing that it may not always be feasible for a spouse to take the other along because of the nature of employment.
The Bench held that the long separation, lack of cohabitation, bitterness between the parties and the collapse of their marital relationship could be treated as cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act. It said there was “simply no possibility of a reunion” and granted the divorce.
The court, however, directed the husband to pay Rs 7 lakh as alimony to the wife.