Christine Lazarus Menezes v. Mr. Lazarus Peter Menezes (2017)

In the case of Christine Lazarus Menezes vs. Mr. Lazarus Peter Menezes (2017), the Hon'ble Bombay High Court held that filing false cases under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, constitutes cruelty and can be a ground for filing divorce. The details of the case are as follows:

1. The appellant's wife challenged the Family Court's decision that had approved the respondent's application for divorce. The Hon'ble Bombay High Court upheld the Family Court's ruling, rejecting the appeal and choosing not to overturn the divorce granted on the grounds of "cruelty."

   
   

2. The court observed that during proceedings, the wife admitted under oath to filing an FIR at the Kherwadi Police Station, Mumbai, against her husband under Sections 498A and 406 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. She also admitted that she had filed the criminal complaint in an attempt to force her husband to return to their marital home.

   
   

3. Given these facts, the court noted that if the criminal complaint filed by the wife was not true and intended solely to coerce her husband back into their home, resulting in his arrest and a seven-day imprisonment, it would amount to cruelty by the wife towards her husband.