A Mangaluru family court has granted divorce to a man on grounds of cruelty and bigamy, holding that his wife remarried while still legally married to him. Judge Lakshminarayana Bhat K. passed the verdict, ruling that the husband had proven he was subjected to harassment and mental trauma due to his wife’s illegal second marriage.

The court rejected the wife’s plea for permanent alimony, citing her false allegations and remarriage during the subsistence of the first marriage. It ordered both parties to return each other’s gold jewellery and directed the wife to pay ₹30,000 to the husband towards litigation expenses.

The petitioner, referred to as Ganesh (name changed), uncovered his wife’s remarriage by staging a fake job interview on Zoom, during which she admitted to the second marriage. He presented documentary evidence, including her name change published in Maharashtra’s official gazette, proving the bigamy.

Married in December 2018, the couple had settled in Bengaluru, where the wife worked in an IT firm. Ganesh alleged she maintained an affair post-marriage and underwent an abortion without his consent, causing anguish to him and his family.

In retaliation, the wife had filed a domestic violence complaint before his sister’s wedding. She later accused Ganesh of coercing her into unnatural acts and trying to involve his friends, which the court dismissed as unsubstantiated and false.

Ganesh said the verdict brought relief after years of emotional turmoil. “Bigamy is a crime. She must face action,” he stated after the judgment was issued on April 23.