Wife Insulting Husband For Skin Complexion Is Cruelty: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court recently observed that a wife humiliating her husband by calling him "dark-skinned" amounts to cruelty. The court noted the wife’s decision to distance herself from her husband and her attempt to level false claims against him for having an illicit affair as cruel.

A two-judge bench of Alok Aradhe and Anant Ramanath Hedge made the observation while hearing the husband’s petition for divorce. The court ruled that the evidence on record showed that the wife had insulted the husband based on his dark skin complexion. She had also moved away from his company based on that reason. To cover up this aspect, she levelled false allegations of the husband having an illicit affair. The court noted that all this amounted to cruelty.

Wife Humiliates Husband For Dark Skin

The husband filed for divorce in 2012, claiming that his wife was consistently insulting him based on his skin colour. It was also submitted to the court that in 2011, the wife lodged a false complaint against her husband and in-laws, citing cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. The husband also claimed that she had left him to go live with her parents.

The wife countered the husband’s claim, alleging that he was engaged in an extramarital affair and stating that he had subjected her to physical abuse. She also alleged that she was ill-treated by his family members.

The court, however, found no substantial evidence to support the wife’s claims and ruled the allegations as baseless and reckless.

The Karnataka high court further went on to hold the family court liable for failing to take into account the impact of such baseless accusations concerning the husband’s character. The court also noted that the wife had been pursuing multiple legal cases against the husband and his family over the years. Also, there had been no communication between the couple for several years.

The court observed that when the wife was asked if she was willing to reconcile with her husband, she stated that although she was willing to live with him, she was not ready to withdraw the complaints against him and his family. The court noted that this clearly indicated the wife wasn’t willing to live with the husband, and there was a huge rift between the couple.

The Karnataka High Court thus concluded the husband’s allegations of being subjected to cruelty by the wife were established and allowed his pleas to dissolve the marriage and grant divorce.

But Hasn't This Been Happening To Women Since Eternity?

Be it a man or a woman, no one deserves to be humiliated based on their complexion. That being said, women are being name-called, humiliated, and abused by their husbands and family members and it is unfortunately a door-to-door story.

Yet do we speak enough about it? Do women know that they don’t have to put up with it and deserve respectful treatment? Even if they are aware, to what extent is her own family, let alone society, supportive of her?

Whenever a woman complains of being insulted by her husband, she is only told to adjust and compromise. Seldom is her agony taken into consideration. But when the same happens to a man, the issue escalates to a whole different level. Why the bias, though? How long is society going to hold on to its double standards? What is it going to take for society to realise that women too deserve to be respected and treated with dignity?

Views expressed by the author are their own

Suggested Reading: Divorce Cases Must Ideally Be Closed Within A Year: Karnataka HC