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

Unfortunately the simple answer is a ‘No’. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is not a direct ground for divorce in India, but the behaviours associated with it, such as mental cruelty or emotional abuse, can be used to file for divorce. To succeed, you must gather evidence of this behaviour and frame the case around legal grounds like cruelty or mental disorder, rather than the diagnosis itself.

In Venkat Perumal v. State of Andhra Pradesh , II (1998) DMC 523, the Andhra Pradesh High Court  dealt with a petition filed by an NRI husband  seeking to quash criminal proceedings initiated by his wife under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)  for matrimonial cruelty. The wife had alleged that she faced harassment, humiliation, and torture  during her short stay with her husband both in Madras and in the United States. When she refused to terminate her pregnancy as

In the present appeal, the appellant-wife challenged the judgment passed by the Family Court on 28-11-2019, whereby her petition for the restitution of conjugal rights was dismissed and the counterclaim of the respondent-husband for divorce was allowed and the divorce was granted. The Division Bench of Revati Mohite Dere and Dr. Neela Gokhale*, JJ., opined that the wife’s behaviour with his husband’s employees, humiliating him in front of his friends, refusing sexual relation

The Division Bench of Renu Bhatnagar* and Navin Chawla JJ., stated that the complaints made by wife to her husband’s employer, especially those involving unsubstantiated claims of adultery, could not be treated to address the issues of any wrong done to her, as the husband’s employer had nothing to do with all such wrongs. The Court stated that irrespective of the merits of these complaints, making such derogatory and defamatory remarks in the form of complaints to the spouse

This case provided comprehensive guidelines on mental cruelty as a ground for divorce. The Supreme Court held that persistent neglect, humiliation, and creating an unbearable environment could constitute mental cruelty. The judgment emphasised that mental cruelty is a state of mind and that courts must consider the cumulative effect of the conduct and its impact on the aggrieved spouse. This case is crucial in providing a nuanced understanding of mental cruelty and its impact