‘Husband need not abandon ailing parents’: Court upholds divorce over wife’s ‘cruelty’

The Chhattisgarh High Court recently upheld a divorce granted to a husband who claimed his wife's insistence on living separately from his ailing parents and her repeated moves back to her family amounted to mental cruelty. The court emphasized that while marriage creates a "new family," it does not erase a person's duties to aged or infirm parents.

Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi ruled that a wife asking for a separate residence does not inherently constitute cruelty, but in this case, the husband's refusal to move was not considered cruel due to his father's serious heart condition and multiple surgeries. The court noted that marital disputes should be evaluated as a whole, not by isolated incidents.

The husband argued that his wife's behavior had caused him significant mental distress, including disrespect for his parents and frequent quarrels. After the death of their son from a rare disease, the wife reportedly pressured him to move to her family home, which he refused. The court dismissed the wife's appeal, affirming the original family court's decision.