KOCHI: Wife does not know cooking, does not cook and serve food...these are the allegations raised by a Thrissur native against his wife in his plea seeking a divorce. However, the Kerala High Court dismissed the appeal stating that not knowing cooking or not cooking is not a ground for divorce.

The petitioner approached the High Court after the family court rejected his plea. The division bench consisting of Justices Anil K Narendran and Sophy Thomas stated that there was no defect in the order of the family court and that failure to prepare food cannot be considered as cruelty leading to divorce. The petitioner claimed that after seven months of marriage, his wife returned to her house after quarrelling over trivial reasons and humiliated him in front of his relatives. However, the wife's counterargument was that her husband had a behavioural disorder. This was upheld by the court. Both of them got married in 2012.

Husband's arguments

• Wife does not know how to cook, she does not prepare food
• Wife had sent an email to husband's employer to get him terminated from his job
• She once spat on husband's body (and later apologized)
• She filed a complaint against him in the women's cell and the magistrate's court

Wife's arguments

• Husband has a behavioural disorder
• An e-mail was sent to husband's employer in the Gulf seeking help to resolve the problem (The High Court, which examined the e-mail, upheld this)
• Physical abuse, comparison with other women
• Took husband to the doctor. However, he was not willing to take medicines