Family, Marriage & Divorce

Husband was found guilty of criminal breach of trust under Section 406 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for pledging his wife's gold, without her consent by the High Court of Kerala in Surendra Kumar v State of Kerala [2024: KER:76979 ].

Law cannot permit or encourage snooping by one spouse on the other. Right to privacy is a fundamental right and it includes spousal privacy. Evidence obtained by invading the fundamental right to privacy of the spouse is inadmissible in the court, says Madras High Court in the judgement in R v B.

Withdrawal of an Original Petition for divorce, filed by the wife under Section 13(1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, does not automatically abate the counterclaim filed by the husband, says the High Court of Allahabad in Ishita Dua v Tarun Kumar Sharma [2024:AHC:79757-DB].

The Supreme Court (SC) in Dolly Rani v. Manish Kumar Chanchal [2024 INSC 355], state's that for a Hindu marriage to be valid in law, it must be performed with the appropriate rites and ceremonies, such as saptapadi (seven steps around the sacred fire) if included, and the proof of these ceremonies is essential in case of disputes.

Stridhan property is essentially what is gifted to a woman before marriage, at the time of marriage or at the time of bidding of farewell or thereafter and it is an “absolute property” of a woman. The husband has no control over it and it does not become a joint property of the wife and the husband. But he can use it in times of distress and he has a “moral obligation” to restore the same or its value to his wife, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Maya Gopinath v Anoop S B [2024 INSC 334].

Mutual Consent Divorce is the quickest form of divorce for an irreparably broken marriage. It is the divorce sought and obtained from the family court by consenting spouses, preferably by filing a joint petition. Divorce is normally sought only when the husband and wife do not want to live together in a matrimonial relation any longer.

Non-performance of an already decided marriage by the accused after booking the hall for its performance, does not amount to committing an offence of cheating, says the Supreme Court (SC) in Raju Krishna Shedbalkar v State of Karnataka & Another.

In Rema v Radhamani (Mat appeal No 813 of 2017), the High Court of Kerala says cohabitation between a man and a woman, however long it may be, will not become a valid marriage, if either of them is already a married person.

In VA Anand v State Information Commission & Others, the Madras High Court pointed out that the wife was not a third party and during the pendency of matrimonial proceedings, she was entitled to receive information relating to salary of her husband.