No greater cruelty than making false allegations against woman's chastity: Delhi HC
New Delhi (PTI): There can be no greater cruelty than making false allegations against the "chastity" of a woman, the Delhi High Court Wednesday observed while granting divorce decree to a woman on the grounds of cruelty and desertion noting that the couple has been living separately for the last 27 years.
The high court said the term "mental cruelty" is wide enough to take within its ambit the "financial instability", and added that financial instability is bound to result in mental anxiety on account of husband not being settled in any business or profession and can be termed as a constant source of mental cruelty to the wife.
"It emerges that mental cruelty' cannot be defined in any straight jacket parameter. The circumstances and the situation of the spouses have to be considered to ascertain if certain acts, which are complained of, would be a source of mental agony and pain.
"In the present case, it is easy to decipher the mental trauma as the appellant (woman) was working and the respondent (husband) was not working. There was a huge disparity in the financial status of the appellant and the respondent. The endeavours of the respondent to be able to sustain himself had admittedly failed," a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said.
The woman approached the high court challenging a family court's decision dismissing her plea to grant a divorce decree on the grounds of cruelty and desertion.
The woman said in her plea that the man had started levelling allegations against her of having illicit relationship with her brother-in-law and many other persons.
The court noted that the husband has vaguely replied that there was constant interference of her brother-in-law and other family members and said this lends credence to the woman's testimony.
"There can be no greater cruelty than making false allegations against the chastity of a woman," it said.
The bench observed that a dead relationship only brings pain and agony and "we find that the court cannot be a party to perpetuation of such mental cruelty".
"The marriage ties which if kept lingering on account of irreconcilable differences and protracted litigation, only bring more cruelty and acrimony. Therefore, such a situation of separation of more than 27 years since December, 1996 is a ground for dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty. We, therefore, hold that the appellant is entitled to divorce on the ground of cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955," the high court said.
The couple got married in 1989 and no child was born to them and they parted ways in 1996.
The woman submitted that she was working with a multi-national company prior to her marriage and it was represented to her that the man was a Delhi University graduate and was earning Rs 10,000 per month from different sources. It was represented that the man's family has a good financial status and position and they owned a two and a half storey bungalow here.
However, after the marriage, she came to know that the man was not a graduate and not working in any concern and he also had no job and the only money he used to get was from his mother.
The man denied all the allegations levelled against him, including that of dowry demands and cruelty.
The high court said the very fact that the parties have been living separately since November 1996 and no conciliation has taken place for the past about 27 years, proves that the parties were unable to sustain their matrimonial relationship.
For a couple to be deprived of each other's company and of conjugal relationship can be interpreted only as amounting to mental cruelty, it said.
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
