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The court was hearing a plea wherein the wife had claimed to have passed her class 12th examination in first division; however, post-marriage, it was revealed that she had only passed class 10th
In a recent ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has clarified that providing false information about one's educational qualification prior to marriage does not constitute grounds for divorce, nor does it amount to cheating under Sections 415 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The decision came from the bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia while adjudicating a case concerning a marital dispute. The husband (petitioner) had alleged that the wife (respondent) had misrepresented her educational qualifications before their marriage. Allegedly, the wife had claimed to have passed class 12th examination in first division. However, after marriage it was revealed that she had only passed class 10th. The petitioner accused the respondent of fraud under Section 420 of the IPC. However, an investigation conducted by the Station House Officer (SHO) found no substantiating evidence for these claims.
The court delved into the core issues of the case, addressing pivotal questions:
The court held that the counsel for the petitioner failed to substantiate how providing false information about educational qualifications during marriage would constitute deceiving a person to deliver property. The court emphasised that the term "deceive" inherently implies an obligation to deliver property, which was not applicable in this context. Therefore, the court found that no offence under Section 420 of the IPC was established in this case.
In addressing whether an offence of cheating had been committed, the court observed that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate how the allegation that the respondent misrepresented her educational qualifications from passing Class 12th to only passing Class 10th would constitute deception or cheating. The court noted the absence of evidence or justification provided by the petitioner to support the claim of deceit or cheating in this regard.
The court further clarified that in regard to whether the marriage would be deemed void or voidable, it stated that “if any marriage is performed by giving a wrong information about educational qualification, then neither it would be void marriage not it would be voidable marriage.” Furthermore, the court emphasised that such a scenario would not be covered by Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
Regarding whether such an allegation alone is sufficient to grant divorce, the court unequivocally stated that “the allegation of getting married by giving a false information about the educational qualification does not amount to any ground for grant of divorce.”
During the proceedings, the petitioner's counsel made severe allegations against the respondent's mother-in-law, including involvement in prostitution. However, these allegations were not initially part of the writ petition. The High Court expressed grave concern over such character assassination in public proceedings and granted liberty to the mother-in-law to pursue legal action against the petitioners for baseless accusations.
The petitioner had also made wild corruption allegations against police officials and accused the mother-in-law of being involved in prostitution. The court demanded evidence for these claims. While the mother-in-law wasn't involved in the case, her character was attacked during arguments. The petitioner clarified that the allegations were based on a previous complaint, not instructions given during the case.
The court in this regard said that “making a general allegations of corruption against a department or against its officers also amounts to defamation,” while granting permission to the Police Department, named in the writ petition, to pursue legal action against the petitioners for making unfounded defamatory statements against them.
Consequently, the bench dismissed the petition and imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000/-.
Cause Title: Bharat Singh Chouhan v State of Madhya Pradesh [WP No. 7831 of 2024]
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