Shimla: Repeatedly accusing an Army officer of having an illicit relationship and sending such complaints to his superior officers without evidence amounts to mental cruelty, Himachal Pradesh high court has held.A division bench comprising Justice Ajay Mohan Goel and Justice Yogesh Jaswal made the observation while dismissing an appeal filed by the wife of the officer against a family court order granting divorce on the ground of cruelty.“The armed forces operate on a strict code of conduct, discipline, and high moral standards. Where a spouse writes formal complaints to superior officers, alleging illicit or immoral behaviour, it directly targets the official’s professional standing and credibility within the force. Such allegations are not ordinary domestic squabbles,” emphasised the court. These are calculated actions that deeply humiliate the official in front of his colleagues, superiors and subordinates, making it impossible for him to maintain his dignity or command respect at his workplace, the bench added.HC noted that the wife had repeatedly levelled the allegations in complaints addressed to his Army superiors but failed to establish them through any cogent oral or documentary evidence. Rejecting her contention that the husband was required to prove the allegations false, HC said the burden rested on the person making them (wife).The two got married on April 23, 2002. The couple lived together intermittently for around nine years before their relationship deteriorated. The Army officer alleged that his wife subjected him and his family to mental cruelty, levelled dowry-related allegations and insisted that he live separately from his family. He also alleged the wife complained to the commanding officer of his regiment about her financial and medical condition despite, according to him, having access to military medical facilities and receiving monthly financial support. He further claimed that an FIR was lodged against him and that his wife and her family members took possession of his house and harvested his wheat crop. The wife denied the allegations and claimed that the husband had himself subjected her to cruelty and avoided his marital obligations.The high court, however, held that the unsubstantiated allegations affecting the husband’s character and reputation caused mental agony and constituted cruelty, entitling him to divorce. The bench dismissed the wife’s appeal and upheld the divorce decree passed by the family court, Kangra, Dharamshala, in 2020.
