A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court while dismissing an appeal filed by a youth seeking divorce from his wife has bemoaned the trend among the new generation to treat marriages as an evil and described it as the fallout of selfish reasons, extra-marital affairs and consumer culture.
Justices A Mohammed Mustaque and Sophy Thomas lamented, “Kerala, known as God’s own Country, was once famous for its well-knit family bond. But the present trend it seems to break the nuptial tie on flimsy or selfish reasons, or for extra-marital relationships, even unmindful of their children. The wails and screams coming out of disturbed and destroyed families are liable to shake the conscience of the society as a whole,” said the judges while dismissing the petition by the appellant husband. “Increasing instances of divorce effected by extra marital affairs may be the result of a rise in consumer culture and live-in relations are on the increase,” said the judges. The husband had married the woman in 2009 but after the birth of three children, he started courting other women. Thus upset the wife whom the husband portrayed as a psychiatric case. The husband had approached the family court with a divorce petition but the court dismissed the same under Section 10(1)(x) of the Divorce Act, 1869. It was against the verdict of the Family Court the husband filed an appeal in the High Court.
The justices pointed out that the younger generation think that marriage is an evil that could be avoided to enjoy free life without any liabilities or obligations.
“They would expand the word ‘WIFE’ as ‘Worry Invited For Ever’ substituting the old concept of ‘Wise Investment For Ever’”, the Justices said.