WAYS IN WHICH HUSBANDS CAN OVERCOME THE TURMOILS FACED DURING

DIVORCE CASES

The institution of marriage in India is considered as a sacred creation and the same is contracted

under various personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Muslim Personal Law

(Shariat) Application Act, 1937 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Even after entering into this

soulful creation called marriage, out of mutual consent, will and emotion, nowadays we

encounter this venerable institution irretrievably breaking down quite easily. With the divorce

cases pacing at a lightning speed in the present time, we often come across the husband being

placed at a disadvantageous position pertaining to the trauma of divorce per se, along with filing

of First Information Reports (FIRs) against him by his wife, allegations of domestic violence and

dowry, matters related to maintenance and alimony, fight for child custody, which commonly

favours the mother as she holds primary rights of her child as is pronounced by the Hon’ble

Supreme Court of India in its numerous landmark judgments such as Elizabeth R. Dinshaw v.

Arvand M Dinshaw and Anr. (1987) 1 , as because several provisions and statutes that govern

divorce related cases like Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) , the Hindu Marriage

Act, 1955, the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, are curated

solely for safeguarding the interests of and benefitting the wife.

However, most of the divorce cases and complaints filed under the Act of 1955 and Section

498A, IPC, by the wife against her husband is solely to satisfy her personal whims, caprice and

malicious intentions. In such instances the said cases and complaints are liable to be struck down

by the Court of Competent jurisdiction. The same have been highlighted by the Apex Court in its

various landmark judgments such as Rukmani v. Manonmani (2017) 2 , Saritha v. R.

Ramachandra (2003) 3 , Harjinder Kaur and Anr. V. State of Punjab (2004) 4 , Social Action

Forum for Manav Adhikar v. UOI (2018) 5 and many others. At this juncture, it is crucial to

mention that the husband can overcome the turmoil so faced in divorces by seeking refuge under

Sections 227, 438 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Sections 120B, 182,

191 and 504 of IPC.

In the cases of Adwait Amrish Goel v. Mukesh Patel School of Technology (2017) 6 and

Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar and Anr. (2014) 7 reiterates the cardinal principal of innocent

until proven guilty and states that mere filing of an FIR would not be understood as gospel truth

rather, the fundamental right to equality bestowed upon an individual under Article 14 of the

Indian Constitution must be taken into consideration.

1 Elizabeth R. Dinshaw v. Arvand M Dinshaw and Anr.,1987 AIR, 3 1987 SCR (1) 175

2 Rukmani v. Manonmani (2017)

3 Saritha v. R. Ramachandra 2002 (6) ALD 319, 2002 (4) ALT 592, I (2003) DMC 37

4 Harjinder Kaur and Anr. V. State of Punjab (2004)

5 Social Action Forum for Manav Adhikar v. UOI 2018 SCC VOL. 10 PART 3

6 Adwait Amrish Goel v. Mukesh Patel School of Technology (2017)

7 Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar and Anr. (2014)