Madhya Pradesh High Court Holds Opposing Divorce After Breakdown Is Cruelty

The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that refusal to consent to divorce after the complete and irretrievable breakdown of marriage amounts to cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The parties, married in 2002, had been living separately for several years. The wife alleged dowry harassment and physical assault, which the husband denied while continuing to oppose the dissolution.

The Court found the marital relationship beyond restoration and observed that compelling parties to remain in such a dead marriage causes avoidable hardship and constitutes mental cruelty.

Concluding that reconciliation was impossible and cohabitation unworkable, the Court allowed the appeal and dissolved the marriage.