Monitoring wife's movements amounts to cruelty, constant suspicion is sufficient reason for divorce, observes High Court Division Bench

KOCHI: The High Court has ruled that the husband's actions of constantly doubting his wife's trust, forcing her to resign from her job and monitoring her movements are sufficient grounds for divorce. The division bench comprising Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice MB Snehalatha observed in the order granting divorce to the woman.

"Love, mutual trust and understanding are the soul of married life. A suspicious husband can turn a matrimonial life into a living hell. Unreasonable questioning can make a marriage meaningless and destroy the peace of mind and self-respect of the spouse. This can be considered cruelty as defined in the Divorce Act," the court observed.

The family court rejected the divorce on the grounds that there was no evidence for the allegations made by the petitioner woman. The High Court granted the divorce, considering that it was not realistic to require written evidence in such matters. The court rejected the husband's argument that the allegations were exaggerated and that the woman's parents were behind it.

Family Court Case

The petitioner, who was a nurse, got married in 2013. Ever since she became pregnant, her husband had been suspicious and watching her. He attacked his wife and abused her parents. He made her resign her job after the birth of their daughter. The reason he gave was that they would be living together abroad. The husband was suspicious of the wife even while they were living together. He locked her in her room and forbade her from talking on the phone. The woman approached the family court after this.