Overview

• Dismissing the wife's appeal, a division bench of Justices Rajani Dubey and Amitendra Kishore Prasad affirmed a 2019 Family Court decree dissolving the marriage.
• The court held that repeatedly calling the husband a “paaltu chuha” and insisting he abandon his parents amounted to mental cruelty in the joint‑family context.
• Prolonged separation met the legal test for desertion under Section 13(1)(ib), with the wife leaving in August 2010 and returning only briefly in late 2011 before the 2016 petition.
• Evidence included text messages and relatives’ testimony, including a message stating, “If you leave your parents and stay with me, respond; otherwise don’t ask,” which the wife acknowledged sending.
• The husband must pay Rs 5 lakh as permanent alimony within six months and monthly maintenance of Rs 1,000 to the wife and Rs 6,000 for the son, with the court noting their respective earnings.