Madhya Pradesh HC Grants Divorce to Husband After Wife’s Self-Immolation and False Allegations Against In-Laws

The Madhya Pradesh High Court granted a divorce to a man whose wife set herself on fire in 2005 and later accused his relatives of the act. The couple married in 2003, had a child, and had been living separately since 2005.

The husband filed for divorce in 2006, alleging mental cruelty. A Division Bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat and Justice Anuradha Shukla hears the appeal after a trial court had earlier refused to grant a divorce.

The High Court rejects the wife’s allegations, noting she failed to produce neighbours as witnesses or evidence to support her claims.

The court concluded that the act amounted to mental cruelty and dissolved the marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act.