Won't move Satya Niketan case from high court as things are moving: Supreme Court

The Madras High Court recently ruled in favor of granting divorce to a man, deeming his wife's repeated departures from their home and her insistence on establishing a separate residence as acts of cruelty. The court dismissed his wife's appeal against the family court's ruling. The wife, when she married her husband, was aware that he was the sole child of his parents and was obligated to care for them in their later years.

Despite this, she pressured him to set up a separate residence, which the court deemed an act of cruelty. The husband alleged that his wife frequently lived at her parents' home for extended periods, and even after moving closer to her parents, she continued to leave him. The wife contested these allegations, claiming she left due to her husband's and his parents' actions, including an alleged request for dowry and an alleged affair.

However, the family court ruled in favor of the divorce based on evidence provided. The wife did not participate in the proceedings before the family court and did not present evidence to support her claims. The court noted that the couple moved into a separate residence after the wife expressed reluctance to live in a joint family, contradicting her own pleadings.

The court emphasized that a husband and wife's relationship is reciprocal and should be based on compassion, mutual adjustment, and love. The frequent visits to her maternal home by the wife for no valid reason could amount to cruelty, the court said, as it could leave her spouse feeling insecure and fearful that her partner may leave at any moment.

Since the wife had married knowing he was the only son of his parents and would have to care for them, the court dismissed the wife's plea, finding no merit in it.