INTRODUCTION
The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Dr. Anita v. Indresh Gopal Kohli, Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 24920 of 2019, delivered on 14 November 2025 by Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, revisits core principles governing divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Court set aside the Uttarakhand High Court’s order granting divorce and remitted the matter for fresh adjudication, finding that essential issues were left unanswered by the High Court.
BRIEF FACTS
The parties married on 20.05.2009 and a son was born on 07.03.2010. Disputes arose early in the marriage. The Husband first filed a divorce petition in 2010 alleging cruelty but withdrew it.
In 2013, he filed a second petition—this time alleging desertion. The Wife contested this, asserting that she had not deserted the Husband but had been forcibly expelled from the matrimonial home. The minor child remained in her custody throughout. The Trial Court dismissed the Husband’s petition on 15.02.2018, but the High Court reversed this finding and granted divorce on 20.09.2019. The Wife then approached the Supreme Court.
ISSUES OF LAW
The Supreme Court noted that the High Court’s decision rested on untested assertions and left several critical questions unresolved:
1) Whether the wife voluntarily deserted the husband or was expelled from the matrimonial home?
2) Whether withdrawal of the first divorce petition on cruelty barred the filing of a second petition based on similar facts?
3) Whether the husband’s conduct in preventing the wife’s return or neglecting the minor child constituted cruelty?
4) Whether the High Court could conclude that the marriage had broken down irretrievably without determining fault or responsibility for the separation?
ANALYSIS OF THE JUDGEMENT
The Supreme Court found that the High Court had granted divorce without undertaking a meaningful examination of the evidence. It emphasised that a court cannot rely merely on oral allegations of cruelty while ignoring the wife’s specific claim—that she had been driven out of the matrimonial home—which was supported by her deposition. The failure to adjudicate this foundational issue rendered the High Court’s conclusion fundamentally flawed.
The Court also expressed concern over a recurring judicial tendency: treating prolonged separation as equivalent to irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The Bench warned that such shortcuts are dangerous, especially where young children are involved, as “devastating effects” may follow if judicial assumptions replace factual findings. Any such conclusion requires a careful inquiry into who caused the separation and whether one spouse’s conduct forced the other to live apart.
Additionally, the Court underlined that repeated litigation—particularly when an earlier petition alleging cruelty was withdrawn—raises questions of maintainability and potential abuse of process. These issues, too, remained unaddressed by the High Court.
Finding that the High Court had failed to perform a complete, evidence-based analysis, the Supreme Court set aside its Judgment and remitted the matter for fresh consideration, directing the parties to appear before the High Court.
SARTHAK KALRA
Senior Legal Associate
The Indian Lawyer & Allied Services
EDITOR’S COMMENTS
This decision stands as a firm reminder that matrimonial disputes require careful, balanced and evidence-centric adjudication. Courts must avoid presumptive findings based solely on the duration of separation or one-sided narratives. Before dissolving a marriage, judicial bodies carry the responsibility of determining fault, examining factual nuances and considering the welfare of children. The Supreme Court’s intervention reinforces that matrimonial justice must rest on thorough reasoning, not assumptions.
SUSHILA RAM VARMA, Advocate
Chief Legal Consultant
The Indian Lawyer & Allied Services
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