Cruelty in Marriage|Supreme Court|K. Srinivas Rao v. D.A. Deepa (2013)

This case set an important precedent regarding cruelty as a ground for divorce. The wife filed false criminal complaints against the husband and his family, leading to their harassment.

The Supreme Court held that filing false cases constitutes mental cruelty, sufficient for granting divorce. It underscored the misuse of legal provisions and the need for judicial intervention in such matters.

This case further delineated the threshold for establishing cruelty. The Court emphasized that it is not the occurrence of occasional quarrels or outbursts of anger that constitutes cruelty, but a consistent and systematic pattern of abusive behavior.

The judgement necessitates that the petitioner must prove that the respondent’s behavior was not an isolated incident but a recurring trend that rendered the continuation of cohabitation impossible.