In a landmark judgement, the Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that a husband is entitled to divorce on grounds of mental cruelty if his religious beliefs are repeatedly mocked by the spouse while upholding the divorce granted by the family court to a Hindu husband from his Christian wife.
Neha and Vikas Chandra married in February 2016. The marriage was consecrated per Hindu rituals. However, thereafter, Neha, who was a Christian, persistently mocked and denigrated the religious sentiments of the Hindu husband. She would abuse Hindu deities and denigrate his faith.
While they married as per Hindu rituals, the wife continued to attend Church and refused to participate in any religious ceremonies along with her husband, Vikas. Soon after the marriage per Hindu customs, she started abusing the Hindu faith and returned to Bilaspur, her maternal home, after living with Vikas in Delhi briefly.
Her behaviour finally led to Vikas approaching the family court and seeking a divorce from the Christian wife.
The High Court judgement upholding the divorce granted by the family court comes as a result of a plea filed by Neha.
The court observed that there is an expectation of a religious Hindu husband that the wife would participate in religious activities along with him, since in Hinduism, any religious yagya is incomplete without the participation of the wife. Neha’s behaviour of not only refusing to participate in religious activity but also abusing Hindu deities and hurting his religious sentiments amounts to mental cruelty.
It is pertinent to note that Vikas Chandra and Neha were married according to Hindu rituals. When the marriage was conducted per Hindu rituals, there was presumably an assumption on the part of the Hindu husband that the Christian wife was willing to embrace Hinduism and would not mock and denigrate the faith after the wedding. There appears to be a strong case of deception involved where soon after marriage, the Christian wife started mocking his faith and abusing Hindu deities, leading to divorce.
