The Court made the observation while upholding a family court order granting divorce to a husband. One of the grounds raised in the divorce plea was the unilateral withdrawal by the wife from a divorce settlement.
Recently, the Delhi High Court issued a significant ruling, stating that unilaterally retracting from a divorce settlement agreement, when initially reached in good faith, constitutes mental cruelty. The division bench, comprising Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna, cited various Supreme Court and High Court decisions to emphasize that in cases of divorce by mutual consent, one spouse’s unjustified withdrawal of consent inflicts cruelty on the other spouse.
The court highlighted that the behavior of the appellant wife, who initially led the respondent husband to believe that their disputes were nearing resolution but then withdrew from the settlement attempt, could induce apprehension, malice, and uncertainty in the husband. It was clear that the dispute was driven by self-interest and a desire for revenge, rather than any valid reason. Therefore, the court concluded that such unilateral withdrawal from a mutual consent divorce constituted cruelty.
This ruling came in response to an appeal filed by a woman against a family court order from March 20, 2017, which granted her husband permission to seek a divorce on grounds of cruelty. The couple’s marriage, solemnized in December 2001, ended in January 2003 due to escalating disagreements. Both parties mutually agreed to divorce, with the wife even accepting a demand draft of ₹5 lakh as partial settlement. However, she later returned the same demand draft, leading to the husband initiating divorce proceedings.
Upon careful examination, the Delhi High Court observed that the wife’s allegations of her husband’s involvement with other women and extramarital affairs lacked substantial evidence. Instead, the court found that her unyielding demeanor and inability to resolve differences privately without subjecting her husband to public disgrace constituted mental cruelty. Consequently, the court upheld the family court’s judgment that granted a divorce to the husband on the grounds of cruelty under Section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
As a result of this ruling, the wife’s appeal was not granted, affirming the divorce granted to the husband.
In this landmark decision, the Delhi High Court has clarified the importance of good faith and fair conduct in divorce settlement agreements, highlighting the consequences of unilateral withdrawals that cause mental anguish to the other spouse.
