The Kerala High Court held that a wife’s demand for a separate residence away from her husband’s family, if made without sufficient or valid reason, constitutes an act of mental cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956.

The Appeal before the High Court was filed by the husband challenging the dismissal of his petition for divorce filed by trial court.

The petitioner and the respondent got married in 2015 in accordance with Hindu rites.

At the time of the marriage, the petitioner was working in Dubai as an Electrical Engineer.

A week after the marriage, the couple went to Dubai and commenced their matrimonial life in a rented residence, where the parents of the petitioner were also residing.

In 2016, during the seventh month of her pregnancy, the respondent returned to Kerala and gave birth to a female child.




The petitioner alleged that, despite his repeated requests, the wife did not return to Dubai.

According to him, she informed him that she would return only if he arranged a two-bedroom flat for their residence and that she would not stay with his parents.

The petitioner further alleged various incidents to suggest that the conduct of the wife amounted to extreme cruelty towards him. 

The bench noted that the wife neither answered his phone calls nor responded to his messages and had blocked his number. 

It also noticed that she deserted the petitioner without any justifiable cause & that the parties had been living separately for at least the last nine years.

Thus, the high court granted divorce to the husband.