Pune: A Pune district court has dissolved the marriage of a Christian couple after holding that the wife had subjected her husband to mental cruelty through a series of acts, including frequent quarrels, alleged harassment, pressuring him to live separately from his family and denying physical intimacy.District Judge K V Parit on Thursday allowed the divorce petition filed by the husband under Section 10(x) of the Indian Divorce Act. The couple had married according to Christian rites in Rahuri, Ahilyanagar, in Jan 2021 and had no children. The husband, in his evidence, alleged that his wife avoided interacting with his family members and remained occupied texting someone. He told the court that during a movie outing, she received a message from the same number saying, “Miss you a lot”, which caused him mental and physical pain. He also alleged that she avoided household work, picked fights without reason, accused his mother of stealing her earrings, lodged a police complaint against him and denied physical intimacy.The wife denied the allegations in her written statement and made counter-allegations, including that the husband had married her to take revenge, treated her as a maid and assaulted and threw her out of the house. She also said she had complained to police about his alleged cruelty.However, the wife did not cross-examine the husband or his supporting witness, and did not lead evidence. Her advocate also remained absent during arguments.The court observed that the husband’s evidence had gone unchallenged and held that a mere denial in the written statement could not rebut positive and unchallenged evidence. The court said the allegations, taken together, were sufficient to infer that the wife had treated the husband with mental cruelty. The court accordingly held that the husband had proved cruelty and was entitled to divorce.
