Spouse alienating minor child from parent ground fro divorce: HC

The trial court in September 2021 granted a divorce to the man, against which she approached the high court.

The Delhi High Court has held that a spouse’s deliberate attempt to alienate a minor child from the other parent amounts to psychological cruelty and can be a valid ground for divorce.

Spouse alienating minor child from parent ground fro divorce: HC

A bench of justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, in its September 19 order, released later, observed that using a child as a weapon in matrimonial disputes not only harms the other parent but also deeply affects the child’s emotional well-being, and thus undermines the very foundation of family harmony.

The court delivered the verdict while dealing with the woman’s plea challenging a family court’s September 2021 ruling, dissolving the marriage on grounds of cruelty.

The couple got married in March 1990, had a son, and the wife refused to cohabit since 2008. The husband in 2009 filed for divorce.

The trial court in September 2021 granted a divorce to the man, against which she approached the high court.

The woman in her petition submitted that she did not alienate her husband and instead continued to reside in the matrimonial home with her son even after filing the divorce petition. She further stated that it was her husband who was unwilling to maintain sexual relations, and her in-laws assaulted her.

In his petition, the husband outlined his unsuccessful efforts to maintain contact with his son despite existing visitation orders. He claimed that although he attempted to meet his child four to five times, the child refused to engage with him. As a result, he eventually stopped the visits, stating they had become both futile and expensive. He further claimed that after filing the divorce petition, the woman lodged several criminal complaints against him and his family members.

Upholding the family court’s order, the court in the verdict authored by Justice Shankar said, “This deliberate alienation of the minor child from the respondent is a serious form of psychological cruelty. The use of a child as a tool in matrimonial conflict not only injures the affected parent but also corrodes the child’s emotional well-being, striking at the very root of familial harmony.”

In its 29-page ruling, the court also held that persistent deprivation of conjugal companionship constitutes an extreme form of cruelty. “It is axiomatic that cohabitation and discharge of marital duties form the bedrock of marriage; their persistent denial not only demonstrates an irretrievable breakdown of the union but also amounts to cruelty warranting judicial intervention,” the court maintained.