Defining and proving Cruelty as a ground in divorce proceedings is tough challenge for any family or matrimonial expert lawyer or an advocate. Your definition of cruelty may or may not go well with the jury. So citing the right incident that amounts to cruelty in a marriage is most important.

Supreme Court on various occassions have defined mental cruelty as a ground for divorce. It can be verbal/non-verbal torture, physical abuse, intolerable conduct of one spouse towards other, willful default or absentism from household duties, denial of physical relationshiop for long , and many other forms of behaviour can be covered under the ambit of cruelty.

Look at this one-

Cruelty in Marriages
Taunting about Past Affairs is Cruelty

The present case is related to cruelty. In this case, the wife was maltreated by her husband and family members because of her previous relationship before marriage. She left the house within 20 days of marriage. She had approached the district court for divorce but the plea was dismissed.

Then she had challenged this decision in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Her parents were well versed with the fact that she is having a relationship with some other person but her parents forcefully married her to the respondent. She was kept locked in the house and not allowed to meet anyone. Her-in-laws had accused her of stealing ornaments but during proceedings, no one was present for rebut her allegations.The husband had denied the allegation previously.

It is said marriages are made in heaven but sometimes they can be troublesome as well. Marriages are sacramental bond but due to many issues, they can bring havoc in a person’s life which would ultimately lead to divorce.

There are several grounds given in Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for divorce under section 13 of the Act like cruelty, adultery, desertion, etc.

The court held that maltreating or torturing a wife because of the previous affair before marriage amounts to cruelty and it is a ground for dissolution of marriage. This type of behavior is not expected from a prudent man.

Marriage or any relationship demands transparency and when someone is being transparent to you by telling one’s deepest secret then it needs to be welcomed not to be harassed for it. Every relation demands respect and trust and they are the basic pillars of marriage. People need to broaden their mindset to accept his/her partner with whatever past he/she may have so that no one’s past can affect their present relationship which will ultimately lead to a happy married life.

Hope this post enlightens you about the subject of Cruelty as ground for Divorce in India. For any query, dial 99888-17966 for LegalSeva.

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