Man entitled to divorce if wife doesn’t let his parents stay with them, rules HC

Man entitled to divorce if wife doesn’t let his parents stay with them, rules HC

In a significant verdict, the Gujarat high court has said a husband is entitled to divorce if his wife does not allow his parents to stay with them and also prevents him from taking care of the parents. The bench of chief justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and justice JB Pardiwala on Monday granted divorce to a Surat-based doctor saying that the behaviour of his wife, also a doctor, amounted to ‘mental cruelty’. The petition for divorce was filed by the husband who had sought dissolution of their 15-year-old marriage. “The court granted divorce, holding that the wife’s actions amounted to mental cruelty towards the husband,” said AY Kogje, counsel for the husband. “We had sought dissolution of the marriage as the wife did not want her in-laws to stay with them and also prevented her husband from keeping any contact with his parents. The court ruled that such action can be covered under the definition of mental cruelty,” the lawyer said. Milind Dave (name changed) had filed for divorce from Mitali (name changed) on the ground that his wife had not allowed his father and mother to stay with them. Not only that, the wife had also prevented him from keeping his mother with them after his father died of blood cancer. According to the petition, in 2007 too the husband had filed for divorce in the Surat family court on the ground of mental cruelty caused by his wife by refusing to allow his parents to stay with them at their house in Surat. However, the court in 2012 rejected the husband’s plea. Milind then filed an appeal in the high court. He put several grounds and evidence against his doctor-wife. According to the petition, the wife had not only objected to his parents staying with them, she had also objected to his going to Ahmedabad to take care of his father who was then suffering from blood cancer. Milind’s parents were then living in Ahmedabad.