The Bombay High Court has dissolved a marriage that had collapsed more than a decade ago, ruling that repeated threats or suicide attempts by a spouse amount to mental cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act. The court also pulled up the husband for filing a false affidavit denying his second marriage, calling it “perjury” and “criminal contempt.”
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad, in a judgment delivered on November 14 made available on November 19, allowed the appeal of Yogendra Lahu Bhoir against a 2019 Family Court order that had rejected his divorce plea. Mr. Bhoir married Prema in May 2006, but the couple separated in September 2012. Litigation began in 2013 and dragged on for over a decade.
The husband cited desertion, suspicion, and repeated suicide threats as grounds for divorce. The High Court agreed, noting that such conduct makes it impossible for the other spouse to live in a peaceful environment.
“When such conduct is repeated, whether through words, signs or gestures, it becomes impossible for the other spouse to continue in the matrimonial relationship in a peaceful environment,” the Bench observed.
The judges criticised the Family Court for ignoring these allegations and stressed that prolonged separation itself amounts to cruelty.
“From the facts on record, it is evident that the marital relationship between the parties has completely broken down and reconciliation is no longer possible. Continuation of such a marriage would only perpetuate the cruelty which the parties are inflicting on each other,” the court order read.
During the appeal, the wife alleged that Mr. Bhoir had remarried. Though he denied this in an affidavit dated February 14, 2025, a police inquiry confirmed he was living with another woman and their child. The Bench called this a serious breach, saying, “Filing false affidavit in the judicial proceedings certainly would amount to not only perjury but also attracting the provision of Section 277 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, but also would amount to Criminal Contempt of Court.”
Granting divorce, the court directed Mr. Bhoir to pay ₹25 lakh, transfer two flats in Mumbra, and hand over 80 grams of gold to his former wife as full and final settlement.