The habit of stealing money from the house and being arrested in a debit card fraud case are sufficient to show that a woman had inflicted mental cruelty upon her husband, the Bombay High Court has ruled in a divorce case.
“Looking at the social status of the parties and the strata of society to which they belong, the enormity and magnitude of these acts are such that they clearly constitute cruelty,” observed Justices V.L. Achilya and Vijaya Tahilramani, while upholding a family court order granting divorce to a man.
The court also dismissed the appeal filed by wife against the family court judgment of 2008, stating that her conduct clearly established cruelty meted out to the spouse.
The man had alleged that his wife was in the habit of lying to him and stealing money from the house and withdrawing money from the bank by forging cheques. She had also been arrested in a criminal case for spending Rs. 37,000 by misusing her colleague’s debit card.
“This single incident [stealing money by misusing debit card] by itself is of such a serious nature that it would make it impossible for the respondent [husband] to live with the appellant [wife] without mental agony, torture or distress. It is sufficient to entitle the respondent to secure divorce on the ground of cruelty,” said the Bench.
