The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a husband’s appeal seeking divorce under the Special Marriage Act, finding that he failed to prove cruelty or qualifying mental disorder.
Justices Jayant Banerji and K. V. Aravind distinguished Section 27(1)(d) of the Special Marriage Act from the Hindu Marriage Act. The provision requires proof that the respondent has treated the petitioner with cruelty “since” solemnisation, rather than merely at some point “after” marriage. The evidence did not establish that continuous statutory condition.
The court also found no reliable medical evidence showing incurable unsoundness of mind, a qualifying mental disorder or psychopathic disorder of sufficient severity. It therefore upheld the Family Court’s dismissal of the petition in MFA No. 2480 of 2022 on 7 October 2026.