‘Wife cannot be expected to behave like Vodafone pug’: Madras HC

Observing that spouses cannot always be expected to live together and that a wife cannot be expected to behave like the “pug” in Vodafone’s unforgettable advertisement, the Madras High Court has dissolved a 16-year-old marriage between an estranged couple.

A division bench of Justices G R Swaminathan and M D Sumathi set aside a family court order that had rejected the husband’s plea for divorce and concluded that there was no possibility of reconciliation between the couple.

The high court directed the husband to pay Rs 7 lakh as alimony to his wife. It said the divorce decree would become effective only after the amount was deposited.

“Radical feminists may applaud the revolutionary approach of the trial court. We say with regret that we cannot give our imprimatur. It may not always be feasible to take the wife along. Suppose the husband is a soldier; it is not possible to set up a marital home in the army barracks. The wife could be gainfully employed. She cannot be expected to conduct herself like the pug in the unforgettable Vodafone ad,” the bench said in its August 19 order, which was made public on August 31.

Husband had moved to Mumbai for work

The couple married on September 10, 1992, according to Hindu rites, and have four children. The husband, now 67, subsequently moved to Mumbai for employment, and the couple remained separated after 16 years of marriage.

In 2014, he approached the family court seeking dissolution of the marriage, alleging that his wife was involved in an adulterous relationship with another man.

The family court, however, rejected his plea. It held that the husband was attempting to take advantage of his own wrong by leaving his wife behind when he moved elsewhere for work.

The family court had observed that a husband was legally bound to maintain his wife and that, given the “impulse of sexual desire”, it was his duty to take his wife with him wherever he went so that he would not become a cause for adultery or rumours of adultery.

The husband challenged the order before the Madras High Court.

‘So much bad blood’

The high court agreed that under the Hindu Marriage Act, a spouse cannot seek divorce by taking advantage of their own serious or grave misconduct. However, it rejected the family court’s reasoning that the husband’s decision to move to Mumbai for employment amounted to a breach of his marital obligations.

The bench noted that it was not always practical for spouses to establish a common household, particularly when employment circumstances made it difficult.

The court also observed that the wife had not taken steps to continue the relationship with her husband. “Even a formal letter or notice was not sent by her,” it said.

The judges attempted to explore the possibility of an amicable settlement by interacting with the parties, but the effort failed.

“Considering the nature of allegations and the counter-allegations, we are satisfied that there is so much bad blood that there is simply no possibility of reunion,” the bench said.

The court concluded that the relationship had broken down beyond repair after years of separation and accordingly dissolved the marriage, subject to the payment of alimony ordered for the wife.