Cruelty in Marriage| Supreme Court| Maya Devi v. Jagdish Prasad (2007)

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 respondent were sufficient to cause apprehension in the mind of the appellant that it is not safe to stay with her. Thus, it is mental cruelty against the husband”. In this case, the Court also suggests that the question of mental cruelty has to be considered in light of particular norms of a marital tie in every society which depends on societal values, status, culture, and surroundings of the parties to the particular case.