This judgment elaborates on what constitutes mental cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Supreme Court noted that persistent accusations, baseless allegations, and abnormal behaviour could amount to mental cruelty. It provided clarity on assessing cruelty in divorce cases.

In this case, the Court emphasised that cruelty as a ground for divorce is not limited to physical harm. Mental cruelty, which affects the emotional well-being and dignity of an individual, is equally valid. The judgment set a precedent by recognising emotional neglect, constant false accusations, and character assassination as forms of mental cruelty. It further stated that marriage cannot be sustained at the cost of individual dignity and peace of mind.

The Supreme Court directed the husband to pay Rs.1,75,000 monthly interim maintenance while considering the instant appeal revolving around an order of reduction of maintenance by Madras High Court, whereby the husband prayed for further reduction of monthly interim maintenance amount and wife prayed for an enhancement; the Division Bench of Vikram Nath and Prasanna B. Varale, JJ., found errors in evaluation made by the High Court and pointed out that it was on record that th

An appeal was filed under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 by the appellant-husband assailing the order dated 19-04-2025 passed by the Family Court, allowing an application filed by the respondent-wife under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, directing the appellant to pay a monthly maintenance of ₹15,000 split as ₹8,000 for the respondent-wife and ₹7,000 for their minor son. A division bench of Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar, JJ., held that the findings of

In the present case, a revision petition was filed under Section 438 read with Section 442 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (‘BNSS’) and Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (‘CrPC’) by the petitioner-husband. He challenged the order dated 9-5-2025 of the Family Court, New Delhi (‘the Trial Court’), which granted ad-interim maintenance of Rs 1,00,000/- per month to the respondent-wife. A Single Judge Bench of Neena Bansal Krishna, J., observed tha

Calcutta High Court in two revision applications filed by the husband and the wife, assailing the order dated 30-12-2023, wherein the Judicial Magistrate reduced the quantum of maintenance granted to the wife from Rs. 30,000 per month to Rs. 20,000 per month, the Single Judge Bench of Bibhas Ranjan De, J, through a common judgement, held that maintenance is not merely a handout for subsistence but rather a tool to maintain lifestyle. The Court further directed the husband to

In a Civil Revision Petition initiated by the petitioner-husband, challenging an order of the Family Court, which had directed payment of interim maintenance to his “affluent” respondent-wife and minor son under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (‘HMA’), a Single Judge Bench of P. B. Balaji, J., while partly allowing the revision, held that the wife did not require any further amounts by way of interim maintenance to lead a comfortable lifestyle. The husband had alle

In a landmark 2025 judgment in the case of Rakhi Sadhukhan v. Raja Sadhukhan , the Supreme Court of India significantly increased the permanent alimony awarded to a divorced wife from ₹20,000 to ₹50,000 per month, with a 5% annual increment to account for inflation and ensure the recipient’s standard of living. While considering an appeal wherein a woman challenged the quantum of permanent alimony of Rs. 20,000 fixed by Calcutta High Court, the Division Bench of Vikram Nath*