The Gauhati High Court has held that a person cannot seek judicial separation by relying on the same grounds of cruelty and desertion that were already rejected in earlier divorce proceedings. The Court clarified that a subsequent petition must be supported by a fresh cause of action arising after the dismissal of the earlier divorce case.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Sanjeev Kumar Sharma dismissed the appeal, finding that the allegations raised in the subsequent proceedings were insufficient to establish a fresh ground for judicial separation.
Background
The matrimonial dispute arose after the marriage, which was solemnised on May 14, 2012. The couple also had a son born on September 9, 2013.
In 2015, the husband approached the District Judge, Nalbari, seeking divorce on the ground of mental cruelty. The petition was dismissed on February 17, 2017. His subsequent appeal before the Gauhati High Court was also dismissed on July 19, 2018.
Thereafter, in 2019, he filed another petition before the Family Court, Nalbari, seeking judicial separation under Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, alleging cruelty and desertion. The Family Court dismissed that petition as well, leading to the present appeal.
Examining the subsequent petition, the High Court noted that 29 grounds had been raised to establish cruelty and desertion. However, the appellant had failed to clarify whether most of the alleged incidents occurred before or after the earlier divorce proceedings.
The Bench emphasised that findings in the earlier proceedings remained binding regarding the cause of action already examined.
The Court observed:
"The grounds on which the appellant/husband could have instituted the subsequent suit for judicial separation must therefore be based on fresh cause of action arising after the dismissal of the suit for divorce."
The Bench further noted that several allegations related to events that could have been raised in the earlier divorce proceedings. Such grounds were also subject to the principle of constructive res judicata, which prevents parties from raising issues in later proceedings that could and should have been raised earlier.
Regarding the allegation that the wife's behaviour had become more rude after the dismissal of the divorce petition, the Court found that the claim lacked specific details explaining the nature of the alleged conduct. The evidence presented before the Family Court also suffered from similar deficiencies.
The Bench additionally rejected the argument concerning irretrievable breakdown of marriage, observing:
"The power to dissolve a marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage is available only to the Hon'ble Supreme Court while exercising powers under Section 142 of the Constitution of India."
Finding no merit in the appeal, the Gauhati High Court dismissed it and upheld the Family Court's decision rejecting the petition for judicial separation.
