15/04/2026
Adultery Must Be Strictly Proven: Patna High Court Dismisses Husband’s Divorce Appeal
The Patna High Court dismissed a husband’s appeal seeking divorce on the ground of alleged adultery, holding that such serious allegations must be supported by clear and credible evidence, which was absent in the present case.
The case arose from a matrimonial dispute where the husband claimed that his wife was already pregnant when she came to live with him after the Gauna ceremony, despite there being no physical relationship between them. On this basis, he alleged that she had conceived with another man and sought divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.
However, both the Family Court and the High Court found that the husband failed to establish these allegations. The High Court noted that most of the witnesses produced by the husband were hearsay witnesses who had no direct knowledge of the alleged facts. The medical evidence and Panchayat claims were also not found to be reliable or conclusive.
The wife, on the other hand, denied the allegations and attributed the dispute to dowry demands and harassment by the husband’s family. Evidence presented on her behalf suggested that she had been driven out of the matrimonial home due to non-fulfilment of dowry demands.
Importantly, the High Court highlighted a key legal defect in the husband’s case—he neither identified nor impleaded the alleged paramour. The Court held that in cases based on adultery, the alleged third party is a necessary party, and failure to include them is fatal to the claim.
Concluding that the allegations were unproven and legally deficient, the Court dismissed the appeal, affirming that mere suspicion or unsubstantiated claims cannot form the basis for dissolving a marriage.
