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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 significant judgement, the Supreme Court observed that a marriage characterized by an increasingly bitter and acrimonious relationship, where both parties inflict cruelty upon each other, essentially degrades the institution of marriage. The Court opined that such a situation, wherein the marriage has irretrievably broken down, warrants the dissolution of the union on the grounds of cruelty.   This case is particularly noteworthy as it recognizes that cruelty may be m

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