The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench recently ruled that a spouse's consumption of alcohol does not, by itself, amount to cruelty warranting the dissolution of marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

This decision came in response to an appeal filed by a husband challenging a family court's ex-parte judgment, which had rejected his divorce plea citing cruelty and desertion by his wife.

The appellant argued that his wife's alcohol consumption violated middle-class cultural norms and caused him mental anguish. However, the Bench, comprising Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Om Prakash Shukla, dismissed this claim, clarifying that alcohol consumption alone cannot be equated with cruelty unless accompanied by "unwarranted and uncivilized behavior."

The court underscored that while societal stigma around alcohol consumption exists in some families, it cannot substitute for concrete evidence of cruelty. Observing the lack of specific allegations or proof of harm caused to the husband, the court stated, "There is no pleading on record to show how the consumption of alcohol caused cruelty to the husband."

The judgment also addressed the husband's claim of desertion, noting that the wife had been living separately since November 2016 and had failed to respond to court notices or participate in the proceedings. While the family court had dismissed the desertion claim due to insufficient evidence, the High Court concluded that the wife's prolonged absence constituted "wilful neglect" under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

The Bench highlighted that the prolonged separation between the couple rendered the marriage "unworkable and emotionally dead." Citing Supreme Court precedents, it stated, "The long period of continuous separation establishes that the matrimonial bond is beyond repair. The marriage between the parties has become a fiction, though supported by a legal tie."

In its ruling, the High Court overturned the family court's decision and granted the husband a decree of divorce. The judgment refrained from addressing other matrimonial obligations, leaving them to be resolved through appropriate legal proceedings.