'No divorce for post-marriage weight gain'

Gaining weight after marriage cannot be a ground for granting divorce, the Bombay High Court has held, while rejecting a man’s plea for dissolving marriage as his wife had put on excess flab.

One of the grounds for seeking divorce was that the wife had concealed from her husband that she had undergone breast surgery before marriage, as a result of which she gained weight later.

The husband had complained that because of the “ailment” suffered by her, he could not enjoy the pleasures of matrimonial life.

In the petition, the man alleged that after marriage, his wife started putting on weight.
He contended that though he suggested her to undergo medical treatment, she refused.
He submitted that his wife always declined to do household work and that he ended up doing it.

He also alleged that she never fulfilled his expectations and that she never performed her duties as a wife.

However, the court noted that the man had admitted that the marriage was consummated.

His grievance was therefore only about his wife being overweight and this could not be a ground for seeking divorce, said a bench of justices M S Sonak and A S Oka.

The court also noted that the husband’s allegation that the wife was quarrelsome and adamant, constitute the normal wear and tear of marriage and by itself was no ground for divorce.

After marriage, the couple stayed in Pune.

As they did not get along well, the husband applied for divorce in a family court in Pune which rejected his plea. He later moved the Bombay High Court which has now dismissed his appeal.

The man had argued that this was a case of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

The high court held, “Even assuming that there is an irretrievable breakdown of marriage, under section 13 of the said Act, the breakdown of the marriage is no ground to grant a decree of divorce.”

The judges said, “The husband has failed to substantiate allegations made by him against his wife which are of very serious nature. Therefore, it is very difficult to believe the testimony of the appellant (husband).”