Mumbai, April 29: The traditional saas-bahu altercations are no grounds to divorce your wife, the Bombay high court told Andheri resident Amar Mehta (name changed), 45.
In an order passed on Wednesday, the court refused to grant divorce to the businessman who said that his wife did not respect his parents and forced them to move out of a joint family. The court was of the view that the discord actually was between Amar’s mother and his wife Neha, 42.
Amar had Neha got married on February 23, 1996. In 1998, Amar, Neha and Amar’s parents moved into a rented flat while his brother and their grandparents continued to live in their family home. However, after disputes arose within the family, Neha and Amar separated from each other in June 2003.
In July 2005, the family court rejected his seeking divorce from his wife saying that as he had not substantiated various allegations levelled against her. He challenged the order in high court.
Amar had contended that Neha was rude to his parents and did not cook for them. He alleged that she suffered from a superiority complex, did not gel with his family, threatened to commit suicide and even alleged that he had an affair with his friend’s wife.
Neha, however, refuted the allegations and said that Amar’s mother always fought with her, which led to her being thrown out of their house. “It is her [Neha] allegation that it was the mother of the appellant [Amar] who would pick up quarrels with her on one pretext or the other. The appellant being under the influence of his mother would abuse and assault the respondent every time his mother complained against her,” the court recorded.
Agreeing with the family court’s decision, justice AP Deshpande and justice RP Sondurbaldota wrote in their order that Amar’s allegations were bald statements. “The allegations relate only to ordinary wear and tear of family life and would not amount to cruelty in legal sense,” the judges held.
“The appellant is sensitive towards his mother and therefore is affected by the dispute between the respondent and his mother. None of the allegations made indicate that it would be dangerous for him to live with the respondent,” the judges said.
–Agencies