Using Wife As “Cash Cow” Or “ATM” Is Mental Harassment And Grounds For Divorce, Says Karnataka High Court
We’ve often heard women being called gold diggers for doing what patriarchy has been telling them to do all along, find themselves a rich husband. And if that makes us women gold diggers then so be it but the cold hard truth is that women aren’t the only ones out there looking to dig gold, men are too. It’s not uncommon to come across men who marry a rich woman only for the money. In a similar case, the Karnataka High Court was hearing an appeal filed by a woman seeking a divorce from her husband alleging mental harassment as he only used her for money. In the judgement, the court stated that a husband using his wife as a “cash cow” or an “ATM” without any emotional attachment will amount to mental harassment and granted the woman a divorce.
In the abovementioned case, the Karnataka High Court was hearing an appeal filed by a woman seeking a divorce from her husband on the grounds of mental cruelty after the same was denied by the lower court stating that there was no cruelty involved in the case. But after hearing the facts of the case, the Karnataka High Court granted the woman divorce while stating that the husband had considered the wife as a “cash cow” and had no emotional attachment to her and had a “mechanical bonding”. Owing to her husband’s behaviour the woman suffered mental trauma and it will be considered mental harassment. Pointing out that the family court failed to consider these factors, the High Court said that the cross-examination of the wife was not done and neither was her statement recorded. Further, the court granted her a divorce on the grounds of cruelty, according to a news report by Times Now.
Also Read: Madras High Court Says Removal Of Mangalsutra By Wife Is Mental Cruelty On Husband. Why Are We Glorifying Symbols Of Patriarchy?
In this case, the couple got married in 1991 and have a daughter. The husband had his own business but suffered heavy losses and was unable to repay his loans after which the wife took a job at a bank to support herself and the family. She also gave her husband money to repay the loans but later found out that her husband has been spending the money on his personal use instead of repaying the loans. She also financially supported him to start a salon in Dubai but later she found that he was not working and had returned from there after suffering a loss. In between all this, the wife had already been duped off of 60 lakh rupees by her husband under the pretext of business.
