Last Updated:January 14, 2026, 20:38 IST

Jharkhand HC upheld divorce for a husband after his wife concealed her age and murder conviction, ruling that trust is vital in marriage and her conduct caused mental cruelty.

The court held that the wife had concealed material facts before contracting the marriage, including her actual age and her conviction to life imprisonment in a murder case.(Representative Image)

The Jharkhand High Court has upheld the dissolution of a marriage after observing that trust and respect form the foundation of the marital relationship, and a spouse cannot be compelled to continue a marriage founded on concealment of grave facts.

A division bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai upheld a decree of divorce granted in favour of a husband who alleged that his wife had suppressed her actual age and her conviction in a murder case prior to marriage. The bench dismissed the appeal filed by the woman, who had challenged the Family Court order that had dissolved her marriage under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

The High Court held that the wife had concealed material facts before contracting the marriage, including her actual age and her conviction to life imprisonment in a murder case. Such concealment, the bench said, caused mental agony to the husband and destroyed the foundation of trust essential for a marital relationship.

“The conduct of the appellant-wife by concealing the material fact about her age and her conviction of life in a murder case before contracting marriage has caused mental agony to the respondent-husband to such an extent that it is almost impossible for them to live together where the thread of trust has already been broken,” the bench noted as quoted by LiveLaw.

Emphasising the importance of trust, the bench noted that marriage is a relationship built on mutual trust, companionship and shared experiences, and once that trust is breached, it cannot be restored.

The court found from the evidence on record that the wife had suppressed several crucial facts prior to marriage. It held that the Family Court, after proper appreciation of oral and documentary evidence, had rightly concluded that the wife’s conduct amounted to mental cruelty towards the husband.

What’s The Case?

The marriage between the two was solemnised on April 15, 2019, in Gumla district. Soon after, disputes arose, prompting the husband to approach the Family Court seeking dissolution of marriage. He alleged that while the wife’s age was disclosed as 27 years at the time of marriage, he later discovered that she was around 40 years old. He further claimed that she had concealed her conviction in a 2006 murder case, in which she and her brother were sentenced to life imprisonment, and that he became aware of this only after marriage.

The husband also alleged that there was no normal conjugal relationship and that the wife repeatedly threatened to kill him and his family members. The wife, however, denied the allegations, claiming that all details regarding her age and the criminal case were disclosed prior to marriage and that she intended to save the marital relationship.

Upholding the September 2022 judgment of the Family Court, Gumla, the High Court held that the findings did not suffer from perversity and required no interference. The appeal was dismissed, and all pending interlocutory applications were disposed of.

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