Delhi court directs woman to pay Rs 15 lakh for defaming ex-husband

New Delhi [India], August 7 : Delhi's Saket District Court has ordered a woman to pay Rs 15 lakh to her ex-husband for defaming him and for malicious and false litigation.
District Judge Sunil Beniwal passed the order and held that the acts of the woman caused injury to her ex-husband and hampered his professional growth.
"The defendant (ex-wife) is directed to pay damages of Rs 15 lakh to the plaintiff (man) on the ground of defamation, naming libel, and damage caused to the plaintiff being a direct consequence of the action of the defendant," the district judge said in the judgment passed on July 29.
It was stated that the marriage between the parties was dissolved in 2021 by a decree of divorce passed by the court after considering the grounds of cruelty. They got married in 2001, as per the Hindu Marriage Act.
He claimed damages of Rs 25 lakh from his ex-wife for defamation, malicious and false litigation, along with an interest rate of 18 per annum.
The man submitted that even after the divorce, the woman continued to defame him by sending emails to his relatives. It was also alleged that the woman used abusive language against the plaintiff and his mother while chatting with her friends through her email accounts.
It was also submitted that the man had to undergo major surgery in March 2022, which cost him Rs 6 lakh.
"From the record of the case, it is evident that the defendant has indulged in acts amounting to defamation by way of libel," the court said in the judgment dated July 29, 2024.