New Delhi, Oct 24 : The Delhi High Court has upheld a decree of divorce granted to an advocate against his wife, holding that her repeated verbal abuse and derogatory messages amounted to 'grave mental cruelty.'

A Bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar dismissed the wife's appeal against the Family Court's 2023 judgment that had dissolved the couple's marriage under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

The Justice Kshetrapal-led Bench said that the wife's conduct, including sending abusive messages that questioned her husband's legitimacy and insulted his mother, caused 'grave mental agony'. 'The most compelling evidence comprises the series of text messages sent from the Appellant's mobile number' which contained vile, derogatory and scandalous language,' it observed.

'Specific messages dated 09.05.2011, 15.05.2011, and 27.06.2011, which included terms such as 'bastard', 'son of a bitch,' and suggestions that his mother should 'earn through prostitution', are by themselves sufficient to constitute mental cruelty of the gravest kind,' added the Delhi High Court.

Rejecting the wife's argument that the husband must have sent those messages to himself from her wife's phone, the Justice Kshetrapal-led Bench held that the explanation was 'inherently improbable' and an 'afterthought'.

It said: 'The appellant's explanation that the respondent (husband) must have sent these messages to himself from her phone is inherently improbable and was rightly rejected by the learned Family Court as an afterthought, particularly since this defence was never pleaded in the written statement and no corroborative evidence was adduced to support it.'

'Words and communications of the sort proved in this case are not innocuous,' observed the Delhi High Court, adding that the Family Court had correctly regarded them as 'causing grave mental agony to the respondent (husband).' 'The appellant (wife) habitually used derogatory epithets such as 'janwar', 'son of a bitch', 'haramzada', 'kutta', and 'kamina' in daily interactions,' the Justice Kshetrapal-led Bench recorded.

'She slapped the respondent (husband) for merely expressing a desire to accompany her to Mumbai' and from the inception of the marriage, refused conjugal relations,' it added. The Delhi High Court agreed with the Family Court that the marriage had 'irretrievably broken down', noting that the parties had been living separately for over 14 years.

While it acknowledged that the husband's conduct in filing multiple complaints was 'not entirely desirable', the Delhi High Court held that 'two wrongs do not make a right'. 'Such conduct by the Respondent (husband) could not justify or erase the independently established cruelty inflicted by the appellant (wife) through her unabashed verbal and textual abuse,' the Justice Kshetrapal-led Bench stated.

Rejecting the wife's appeal, the Delhi High Court said: 'We find no merit in the present appeal. The Family Court's decision to grant a decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty is based on a cogent and balanced appreciation of the evidence and a correct application of legal principles.'

/IANS