Hiding Sister's Intercaste Marriage Is Marital Cruelty, Says Gujarat HC While Granting Divorce To Woman

The Gujarat High Court has issued a notice to a woman who obtained a divorce through a family court, citing cruelty, as her husband's sister had married outside their caste, and this information was concealed from her.

The couple's arranged marriage took place in 2018, according to the husband's representative.

The wife left her marital home two days after discovering that her sister-in-law had married someone from a different community, which she considered to be of a lower caste, reported the Times of India.

In 2020, she filed for divorce in the Bhavnagar family court, alleging cruelty. She claimed her husband had hidden the fact that his sister had married outside their caste, though he had mentioned having two sisters.

He failed to disclose a third sister who had married outside their community, and the wife only met her during the wedding.

Furthermore, she alleged that her husband had filed a police complaint accusing her family of threatening his life and had sent it to her workplace.

In response, the husband filed a suit for the restoration of conjugal rights, asking the court to compel his wife to return. On September 30, 2024, the Bhavnagar family court dismissed his petition and granted the wife a divorce.

The husband appealed the decision, filing two separate appeals and requesting the High Court to overturn the divorce order.

After a preliminary hearing, Justices Biren Vaishnav and DM Desai noted that the grounds for the wife's claim of cruelty included the revelation that the husband's sister had married someone from another community.

The High Court, having issued a notice to the woman, has scheduled a joint hearing of both appeals for January 20.