Husband's Affair End of Life For Wife, Tough to Find Good Match for Daughter Later: Gujarat HC Judge

Ahmedabad: A Gujarat High Court judge, in a recent order, has ruled that extra-marital affairs are the biggest reasons behind divorces in the country and that such relationships mean the ‘end of life’ for a wife and poses hardships for the daughter of the man to find a ‘good match’.

Justice JB Pardiwala was presiding over a case where a husband had filed a petition before the court to quash an FIR against him and his parents lodged by his wife under the Domestic Violence Act.

The judge noted that most of divorces happen due to extra-marital affairs and that it mostly affects people who are not even involved, like the children.

“Extra-marital affairs are growing in number and its becoming a common phenomenon these days. However, even when an affair seems to be working, it will eventually cause severe damage. The worst thing with extra-marital affairs is that they usually ruin the lives of the people who are not in the wrong, like the children,” noted the HC judge.

It has been a long-standing debate as to how the blame always falls on ‘the other woman’ for ruining a marriage. Putting an end to the debate, the Gujarat High Court judge ruled that the husband, his wife and two children “were one happy family until another lady by the name of ‘X’ came into the husband’s life”.

“It appears from the evidence that ‘X’ used to frequent their residence to give tuition to the two children. As alleged by the wife, the husband developed intimacy with ‘X’ and the marriage was shattered,” reads the order.

The judge also states that it would mean the ‘end of life’ for a wife when she discovers an extra-marital relationship of her husband.

“For any wife, it would be the end of the life on the day she comes to know that her husband has an extra-marital affair. Even if the husband showers all the riches of the world upon the wife while maintaining an illicit relationship with another lady, the same would hardly be of any consequence,” said the Gujarat High Court judge.

The court also noted that the 20-year-old daughter of the couple, it would find it difficult to find a ‘good match’ after her father’s involvement in an extra-marital affair.

“I take notice of the fact that the daughter has attained majority. The family will have to search for a good match for her. With such problems in the family, the daughter may not easily get a good match. This is one very peculiar problem. Unfortunately, in the Indian society, the good virtues of a girl would not be seen if the father or the mother has a problem,” the judge observed.