Wife Demanding ₹2 Crores To Consent For Divorce, Refusing Cohabitation Amounts To Mental Cruelty: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld a decree of divorce on the ground of mental cruelty, holding that a spouse who persistently refuses to resume cohabitation, deprives the other spouse of matrimonial companionship and consortium, and demands an exorbitant lump-sum amount of ₹2 crores as a condition for consenting to divorce subjects the other spouse to mental cruelty. [2026 LiveLaw (Chh) 74]

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal was hearing a matrimonial appeal filed by the wife challenging the Family Court's decree granting divorce to the husband on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The husband alleged that the wife had strained relations with his family members, left the matrimonial home in February 2022, and refused to return despite repeated requests and counselling sessions. The wife denied the allegations, contending that she was willing to continue the marriage and that the husband himself had demonstrated his intention to dissolve the marriage by creating a matrimonial profile describing himself as "Awaiting Divorce".

The Court observed that the evidence on record showed that the wife had consistently refused to resume cohabitation despite repeated requests by the husband and his family members. It found that the parties had reached a stage where there was no possibility of reconciliation and had been living separately since February 2022.

The Court further noted that during her cross-examination, the wife admitted that she had proposed to consent to divorce if the husband paid her a lump-sum amount of ₹2 crores. It also observed that the matter had been referred to mediation by the High Court to explore an amicable settlement, but the mediation failed because of the wife's exorbitant monetary demand. According to the Court, these circumstances, coupled with the prolonged separation and refusal to resume matrimonial life, constituted mental cruelty.

“The unsuccessful mediation proceedings, coupled with the prolonged separation of the parties and the multiple litigations pending inter se, reinforce the conclusion that the marriage has reached a stage where its continuance would serve no meaningful purpose and would only perpetuate the mental agony and hardship already suffered by both parties,” the Court observed.

The Court held that the Family Court had properly appreciated the oral and documentary evidence and that no perversity or illegality had been shown warranting appellate interference.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeal, affirmed the Family Court's judgment granting divorce on the ground of cruelty, and upheld the award of permanent alimony of ₹10 lakhs.

Case Title: Ayushi Ginoria (Agrawal) v. Sumit Agrawal [FA(MAT) No. 287 of 2025]

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Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Chh) 74