New Delhi: The Supreme Court has orally expressed concern over wives writing to their husbands' employers during matrimonial litigation, observing that such complaints could result in loss of employment and ultimately affect maintenance claims.
The observations came from a bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice R. Mahadevan while hearing a transfer petition filed by a woman seeking transfer of a defamation suit filed against her by her husband's friend from Assam to Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The wife sought the transfer on the ground that she was already engaged in multiple litigations against her husband in Ghaziabad.
Justice Nagarathna observed that many wives were adopting the course of writing to their husband's employers, leading to termination of employment. She remarked that while seeking a divorce was one thing, causing the loss of a spouse's livelihood was worse.
During the hearing, counsel for the wife submitted that she was already involved in multiple litigations with her husband in Ghaziabad, and that a defamation case had been filed against her at the instance of her husband by his close friend and colleague. The defamation case arose from a representation the wife had made to Air Force authorities in Delhi, alleging that the husband, an Air Force officer, was running an independent business in violation of service rules.
Responding to this, Justice Nagarathna remarked that writing to a spouse's employer during matrimonial disputes was among the worst things a wife could do, since it could cost the husband his job and leave little basis for any future maintenance claim.
Counsel for the wife submitted that the representation to the Air Force authorities had been made only after the husband filed a false complaint alleging theft of Air Force articles, specifically accusing the wife and her brother of stealing an Air Force helmet. He said the representation was made only to ascertain the whereabouts of the article after it had been allotted, and clarified that the defamation case had not been filed by the husband himself but by his friend.
The Court passed an order referring the matter to the Supreme Court Mediation Centre to explore the possibility of a settlement between the parties. Justice Nagarathna also asked counsel for the wife to advise her to resolve all the disputes and withdraw the allegations.
