Wife’s dark-skin remark on husband amounts to cruelty: Karnataka High Court

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has pronounced that insulting a man for his dark skin by his wife amounts to cruelty. The judgment was delivered, after the court emphasized that this type of behavior qualifies as a substantial reason to grant the divorce.

The court’s decision stemmed from evidence suggesting that the wife consistently belittled her husband due to his skin color, leading to his emotional distress and their eventual separation. The court observed that these actions by the wife constituted cruelty, as they were grounded in derogatory behavior. The court, referring to Section 13(i)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, approved the petition for divorce on these grounds.

The couple, hailing from Bengaluru, tied the knot in 2007 and welcomed a daughter. However, their marriage faced turmoil, leading the husband to file for divorce in 2012 at a family court. The case was later taken up by a division bench of Justices Alok Aradhe and Anant Ramanath Hegde. The bench of Justices Alok Aradhe and Anant Ramanath Hegde passed the recent verdict.

The husband claimed that his wife persistently humiliated him, citing his dark complexion as the basis for her insults. He stated that he endured the insults for the sake of their child. On the other hand, the wife, filed cases against him under Section 498A of the IPC (relating to cruelty against a married woman) and the Domestic Violence Act. She further alleged mistreatment and cruelty by her husband and his family. In response, the family court dismissed the husband’s divorce petition in 2017, prompting him to appeal to the High Court.