Legal action or punishment for cheating wife who is ready to divorce

Dear Client,
In the given scenario, the following legal remedies may be pursued to get rid of toxic married life. 1) Under section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, any spouse can file a petition before a district court for the restitution of Conjugal Rights. This remedy can be sought by either the husband or the wife who has been deserted or separated from the other spouse without any reasonable cause or excuse. If the husband wins the Sec 9 (RCR) case, then the wife is not entitled to Maintenance u/s.125 of the Cr. PC(replaced by Section 144 of BNSS). The decision in a suit against the wife for restitution of conjugal rights is equivalent to a decision by a competent civil court that the wife had no sufficient reason for refusing to live with her husband. But if there is no evidence of ill-treatment by the husband and the wife has no just cause to live separately, she is not entitled to claim maintenance. As per Section 125(4) Cr. P.c, no wife shall be entitled to receive an allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance and expenses of the proceeding, as the case may be, from her husband under this section if she is living in adultery, or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her husband, or if they are living separately by mutual consent. 2) When a matrimonial relationship between a married couple has completely broken down and become irretrievable, a decree of divorce is the unique and viable option to resolve the issue permanently. Both mental cruelties under Sec.. 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and desertion for a continuous period of two years under Sec.13(1)(ib) of the Act are valid grounds to seek divorce by either spouse. When there is no possibility and no scope of mutual divorce, you can file a one-sided/contested divorce petition before the Family court of the city where the couple last lived together, such as their marital home, where the marriage was solemnized, or where the wife currently resides. A contested divorce is more expensive and time-consuming than a mutual divorce. The burden of proof lies on the person who demands the divorce. The Karnataka High Court in the case of Haunsabai vs. Balkrishna Krishna Badigar (1980) denied maintenance to a wife who deserted her husband without sufficient reason, emphasizing that desertion without cause disqualifies her from receiving maintenance. The Uttarakhand High Court in the case of Smt. Archana Gupta & ors vs. Rajeev Gupta (2009) denied maintenance to a wife living separately without sufficient cause, underlining the requirement for valid reasons to claim maintenance. Since grounds for one-sided/contested divorce reflect the various challenges and complexities that may arise in the course of divorce proceedings, it is always recommended to consult an expert divorce lawyer to get the right legal advice before filing a contested divorce petition.