Bhubaneswar, March 24: A woman’s repeated threats to commit suicide are insidious form of emotiononal blackmail & psychological oppression for her husband & his family ruled the Orissa High Court on Monday.
Hearing an appeal filed by a woman seeking restitution of her conjugal life after a family court ordered a hefty amount of alimony, a two-Judge bench pronounced the landmark verdict in favour of the man.
The bench observed that, blackmailing husband with repeated threats of committing suicide is not merely misconduct.
“Repeated threats to commit suicide, or worse, to harm the spouse and their family members, transcend mere emotional outbursts, they represent a gross misuse of emotional vulnerability and blatant form of psychological warfare,” the two judge bench of Justices BP Routray and Chittaranjan Dash stated.
“The effect of such behaviour is not just confined to the four walls of the matrimonial home but leaves a lasting scar on the mental health and emotional stability of the aggrieved spouses,” the bench stated.
The High Court Bench thus upheld the family court’s order of dissolution of marriage, as sought by the man.
As per the background of the case, a man who got married in 2003, sought divorce from his spouse in 2009. His pleas included constant quarrels, financial control, repeated threats of suicide and forced eviction of his elderly parents from his wife.
Hearing the case, the family court in Cuttack granted dissolution of marriage subject to payment of Rs 63 lakh as onetime alimony by the husband.
