A US-returnee man claims his wife, in-laws forced him to live as ‘ghar jamai’, cited a false case and her ‘mental illness’ to seek divorce after 17 years of marriage; Telangana HC says petty issues don’t warrant divorce | Hyderabad News

(AI image) The 50-year-old man, who had returned from the US, had accused his wife and her parents of forcing him to live at her parental home as an ‘Illatom’ or ghar jamai.

HYDERABAD: The Telangana high court has dismissed a husband’s appeals seeking divorce on grounds of cruelty, ruling that his allegations against his wife were not supported by credible evidence.The court observed that the couple had no major differences and that trivial or petty issues could not be treated as mental cruelty warranting dissolution of marriage.A division bench of Justice K Lakshman and Justice K Sujana upheld a family court order that rejected the husband’s divorce petition and allowed his wife’s plea for restitution of conjugal rights.The 50-year-old man, who had returned from the US, had accused his wife and her parents of forcing him to live at her parental home as an ‘Illatom’ or ghar jamai. He also cited a domestic violence case filed against him, which ended in his acquittal, alleged that his wife had psychiatric problems and suicidal tendencies, and claimed that she took valuables and jewellery from their Hyderabad home in his absence.The couple married in 2009 and have a 16-year-old daughter. They have been living separately for 14 years.‘No major differences’Dismissing the appeals, the bench said the husband’s allegations could not be accepted in the absence of credible evidence. “There are no major differences between the couple and the husband unnecessarily precipitated the issue and sought divorce on untenable grounds,” the court observed.The bench further held that the family court had rightly rejected the husband’s plea for dissolution of marriage. “Thus, we are not inclined to grant divorce on the ground of cruelty,” it said, adding that trivial or petty issues could not amount to mental cruelty.According to the husband, his wife was temperamental and left the matrimonial home on March 6, 2011. He alleged that she and her family later sought a divorce by mutual consent, with Rs 2 lakh to be deposited for their daughter. He also claimed that she had filed a false case against him and denied him access to the child.The wife disputed his allegations and accused him and his family of harassing her over dowry. She told the court that Rs 6.5 lakh in cash and 10 tolas of gold had been given at the time of marriage, but her husband and his family demanded an additional Rs 5 lakh. She also alleged that she was driven out of the matrimonial home and forced to undergo an abortion in July 2012.Court finds inconsistencies in husband’s claimsThe high court found inconsistencies in the husband’s case and held that his claim that he had been forced to live as an ‘Illatom’ was a “bald allegation with no evidence”.The bench also noted that the husband himself had issued a notice seeking divorce by mutual consent and had never sought restitution of conjugal rights.Upholding the family court’s decision, the high court declined to grant him a divorce on the ground of cruelty.