I read your advice to a reader where his question was: ‘My wife left me but am scared to file for divorce lest she files false dowry case against me’. Your answer to him was: ‘You can immediately file a divorce petition on the ground of wife’s cruelty and desertion before the concerned Family Court which is in your Jurisdiction of Residence or place of marriage. She can file a case under the Dowry Prohibition Act and under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, but as per the direction of Hon’ble Supreme Court, you cannot be arrested. Secondly, if your divorce is prior in time to any case filed by her, then you can also tell the court that as a counterblast she has filed a false case against you.’
My problem is I don’t have evidence of my wife’s cruelty…
I don’t have strong evidence of my wife’s cruelty. I really don’t know how to prove my wife’s cruelty. I got fed up and filed for divorce before she filed a 498A against me even then I am stuck. She left me, asked for protection from the court and asked for the right for residence in the matrimonial home. After that, I filed for divorce. When she received the divorce summons she filed for RCR section 9 and said, ‘I want to live with him but he is leaving me.
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Please suggest what I should do. I would suggest to other men to always collect airtight proof of the cruelty done by wife (record her calls and texts) and only then proceed else they’ll be stuck like me. My wife needs money too as she is not earning. It will be a long uphill road for me from here. Do you have any advice for me? What is your divorce advice for men in India when he has to deal with wife’s cruelty. How can prove cruelty by my wife for divorce in India?
I want to know how to prove mental cruelty in divorce?
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Dear Sir,
You can immediately move an application for early hearing of the divorce petition, as once that petition is heard and decided, the petition filed by your wife under section 9 will become infructuous. With regard to evidence, you can also lead evidence by putting your wife into the witness box through your lawyer and try to prove your point by posing appropriate questions.
Every evidence of cruelty may be on paper, but it can be proved through leading evidence in the divorce petition filed by you.
With regard to maintenance, unless you are able to prove that your wife is earning or that she had left her matrimonial home or that she is capable to earn but is not earning, you would be liable to pay maintenance as per the calculation made by the concerned court under Section 125 of the CRPC.
All the best,
Nandish Thacker
