Important Judgements

In this case, the husband alleged that his wife, Mrs. Maya, does not provide food to him, used to threaten him to implicate false charges of dowry against him or his family and often said that she will kill his whole family.   After considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, the Supreme Court held that “although the expression of cruelty has not been defined in the Act, it may be physical or mental, direct or indirect. And in this case, the acts of the responden

Jayachandra v. Aneel Kaur further refined the test for cruelty. The Supreme Court maintained that the conduct complained of must be of such a nature that it creates an environment where the aggrieved spouse is unable to live with the other without experiencing continuous mental torture, agony, or distress.   This test requires the Court to weigh the nature and frequency of the abusive conduct against the overall impact on the complaining spouse’s mental well-being.

In this case, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of character assassination and its impact on the marital relationship. The Court held that disgusting and unsubstantiated allegations regarding a spouse’s chastity and extra-marital relationships are a grave assault on the spouse’s honor and dignity. Such defamatory accusations, when made in the course of legal proceedings or cross-examinations, can amount to mental cruelty.   The judgement underscored that the quality and m

The judgement in Rani Narasimha Sastry dealt with the complexities surrounding domestic complaints. The Court made it clear that the mere act of filing a complaint, such as one for maintenance or domestic violence, cannot be equated with cruelty unless accompanied by substantive evidence.   However, if a complaint is filed and later found to be baseless or the accused is acquitted, it can be inferred that the filing of the complaint itself might have been used as a tool of ha

In this case, the husband and wife were married in 2012. Domestic issues surfaced when the wife refused to reside in the husband’s matrimonial home. The situation escalated in 2016 when the wife initiated legal proceedings by filing a police case against her husband, his in-laws, and others, accusing them of matrimonial torture and cruelty. In response, the husband filed a petition before the Family Court under Sections 13(1)(i-a) and 13(1)(i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act. Alt

Cruelty is not defined by petty arguments, simple irritations, minor quarrels or issues, but by grave and severe conduct that causes lasting mental pain or injury. While any behaviour depends on the specific circumstances, courts have consistently held that everyday quarrels are not cruelty, as seen in the landmark case of Dastane v. Dastane, which emphasized the foundation of marriage as tolerance and adjustment, not hypersensitivity. Examples of conduct considered not cruel

In Sondur Rajini v. Sondur Gopal , the wife filed a petition for judicial separation, custody of minor children, and maintenance  under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) . The NRI husband objected, claiming that both parties were citizens of Sweden and not domiciled in India , and therefore the Mumbai Family Court lacked jurisdiction  under Section 1(2) of the HMA. The wife argued that their domicile of origin was India , which she had never abandoned, and that even if the husband

In Indira Sonti v. Suryanarayan Murty Sonti , the plaintiff wife , married in the United States  to an NRI , was deserted by her husband and returned to India. She filed a maintenance suit under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act . Though the marriage took place in the U.S., the wife contended that part of the cause of action arose in Delhi . She stated that her father-in-law had contacted her father in New Delhi  regarding her marriage, had arranged for her return to De

In Balasubramaniam Guhan v. T. Hemapriya , the Madras High Court  applied Section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC)  to an NRI marriage  scenario. The wife filed a suit seeking to declare a divorce decree passed by a Scottish court  as ultra vires, illegal, unenforceable, and without jurisdiction , and also sought a consequential injunction  restraining her husband from enforcing the decree, including any claims to marry a second wife. The Court held that if a foreign judg