False Accusations of Infidelity Amount to Extreme Cruelty, Rules Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that baseless and unverified allegations of infidelity can constitute extreme cruelty against a spouse, as such claims seriously harm a person’s reputation and mental peace.

The judgment arose from a case involving a couple married in 1997, who initially lived in Shamli before relocating to Delhi. The husband alleged that his wife was quarrelsome, suspicious, and often engaged in disputes with family members and colleagues, leading to estrangement from his parents.

The wife, however, accused her husband of adultery, dowry harassment, and neglect. She claimed that she had been forced out of the matrimonial home during her pregnancy in 1998, after which her mother paid Rs2,00,000 to the husband to help him set up a clinic in Delhi. She also alleged that the monetary demands continued even after the relocation.

The Court found that the wife’s allegations of adultery and dowry harassment were not substantiated by evidence. It observed that she independently owned and sold properties, which contradicted her claims of financial coercion.

Noting that the couple had been living separately since 2012, the Court highlighted that the wife had filed multiple cases against the husband and his family, including FIRs under Sections 498A and 323 of the IPC, as well as civil suits and police complaints. These actions, the Court said, caused significant mental agony, harassment, and social humiliation to the husband.

While upholding the divorce decree in the husband’s favour, the Court remarked that the relationship had deteriorated beyond repair, describing it as marked by “hostility, bitterness, and acrimony,” and likening further reconciliation efforts to worsening a “cancerous state of affairs.”