Concealing Age, Murder Conviction Before Marriage Amounts To Mental Cruelty: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that a person concealing material facts such as their age and conviction for life imprisonment in a murder case before solemnisation of marriage amounts to mental cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, warranting dissolution of marriage. The Court observed that such concealment, in this case by the wife, breaks the thread of trust between spouses, causing mental agony to the husband to an extent that it becomes nearly impossible for the parties to live together.A Division Bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai was hearing an appeal against a Family Court decree allowing dissolution of marriage under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.The parties' marriage was solemnised on 15.04.2019 at Village Pantha, PS Basia, District Gumla. The husband approached the Family Court seeking dissolution of marriage, contending that the marriage was contracted after suppression of material facts, including the wife's age, which was allegedly stated to be 27 years despite her being around 40 years. The husband also pleaded that the wife had been in custody for over two years, and had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case relating to the death of a man alleged to be her previous lover. It was further alleged that after marriage, the wife frequently threatened to kill him and his family, and also threatened to implicate him in criminal cases. Opposing the divorce petition, the wife filed her written statement denying the allegations. She contended that she had disclosed the criminal case to the husband prior to marriage, and asserted that she had been falsely implicated. She submitted that she was willing to save the marriage, but the husband was adamant on seeking divorce.The High Court referred to a catena of Supreme Court decisions on what constitutes cruelty in marriage. It held that the evidence on record indicated that the wife had concealed several material facts before contracting marriage. The Court noted that it was also an admitted position that the wife had remained in custody for two years after being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. It held:“Admittedly, the relationship of husband and wife is on the thread of trust and in the case at hand, the conduct of the appellant-wife by concealing the material fact about her age and her conviction of life in a murder case, before contracting marriage, has caused mental agony to the respondent-husband to such an extent that it is almost impossible for them to live together where the thread of trust has already been broken. Relationship of wife and husband is based on the trust and respect to have upon each other and if it is broken it is non-repairable as the trust is the foundation of marriage. Marriage is a relationship built on mutual trust, companionship and shared experiences.”Accordingly, the High Court affirmed the Family Court's decree and upheld the grant of divorce.Case Title: Ranthi Kumari Devi v. Suresh Kumar SahuCase No.: F.A. No. 137 of 2022Appearance: Ms. Chandana Kumari appeared for the Appellant. None appeared for the Respondent.Click Here To Read/Download Order

Concealing Age, Murder Conviction Before Marriage Amounts To Mental Cruelty: Jharkhand High Court

Rushil Batra

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