The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted divorce to a polio-afflicted man, who had accused his wife of taunting him for handicap.
“Taunting a person for his handicap, and pushing him around to throw him on the ground when he is helpless and unable to defend himself, constitutes the most inhumane kind of cruelty which can be meted out to any disabled person; and the respondent’s (wife) such actions amount to her inflicting both physical and mental cruelty on the appellant,” the bench of justice Ritu Bahri and justice Nidhi Gupta observed allowing a plea from Hoshiarpur resident, who had challenged a local order of April 2010. His plea for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion was dismissed by the trial court, which he had challenged in high court.
The appellant and the woman got married in March 2004 at Nakodar and out of the wedlock, they had a son in December 2004. He had told court that he is handicapped and afflicted by Polio since childhood. At the time of his marriage the woman and her parents told him that the woman was married earlier but had to leave her husband as he was an alcoholic and used to beat her. But the woman started insulting him and mocking him publicly for his physical disability and used to taunt him in front of his family and friends.
“The woman continually taunted the appellant regarding his virility, and even used to snatch his crutches and physically throw the appellant on the ground in the presence of his friends and relatives,” it was claimed adding that due the hostility in the family, his parents also disinherited him. As the alleged harassment continued, he filed for a divorce in 2005.
The woman had denied the allegations stating that her parents had spent handsome amount on her wedding and had given gifts and dowry articles to the appellant and his family despite which they used to ill-treat her.
{{/usCountry}}The woman had denied the allegations stating that her parents had spent handsome amount on her wedding and had given gifts and dowry articles to the appellant and his family despite which they used to ill-treat her.
{{/usCountry}}Taking note of testimonies of witnesses, the court observed that there is sufficient evidence on record where it is established that the woman ill-treated the appellant for his handicap.
It also came before court that since 2005 the appellant has been regularly, without fail, paying maintenance from time to time.
The court granted divorce to the estranged husband holding that act of wife amounted to cruelty but ordered that the husband in view of her “requirements”, would give ₹15 lakh to the wife as one time permanent alimony and ₹10 lakh would be paid to the son within six months, residing with the woman and is about to be a major in next few months.