In a significant ruling, the Chhattisgarh High Court has held that taunting a husband over his unemployment during a financially difficult period amounts to mental cruelty and can be a valid ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The judgment came in a case involving a 52-year-old lawyer from Durg, where the High Court overturned an earlier family court decision that had dismissed the husband’s plea for divorce.

The division bench comprising Justice Rajani Dubey and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad observed that the wife’s conduct—taunting her husband during his financial hardship, abandoning the marital home without reason, and failing to participate in court proceedings—constituted mental cruelty and desertion. The court stated, “A spouse’s behaviour, including verbal altercations and unreasonable demands, can constitute mental cruelty, warranting a decree of divorce.”

The couple married on December 26, 1996, in Bhilai and have two children: a 19-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son. Court records reveal that the husband supported his wife through her PhD studies and even helped her become a school principal. However, their relationship deteriorated over time, especially during the pandemic when the husband’s income dropped due to court closures. According to the husband, his wife repeatedly taunted him about his financial struggles.

In August 2020, following a heated argument, the wife left the marital home with their daughter and never returned despite reconciliation attempts by the husband and their son. Since September 16, 2020, the couple has been living separately. The court noted that the marriage had “irretrievably broken down,” and the wife’s absence from proceedings further indicated her intention to end the relationship.