Hello sir,
You can file for Divorce Petition on the grounds of cruelty. The Hindu Marriage Act-1955 has given the legal provision for divorce on basis of cruelty under section – 13(1)(ia) as follows;
“Any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party has, after the solemnization of the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty”.
Cruelty refers to violent acts. However, a mere quarrel, petty outrageous behaviour or differences between the spouses does not come in the ambit of cruelty because this is something that is common in a day to day married life. It is not every act of cruelty in the ordinary and popular sense of that word which entitling the party aggrieved to a divorce; there might be many wilful and unjustifiable acts inflicting pain and misery in the respect of which the relief could not be obtained. To constitute cruelty in the matrimonial law, the conduct of complained should be “grave and weighty”. So as to come to the conclusion that the petitioner spouse cannot be reasonably expected to live the other spouse. It must be something more serious than “ordinary wear and tear of married life”.
While explaining mental cruelty, the supreme court in Parveen Mehta v. Inderjit Mehta, (2002) 5 SCC 706, observed: “ Cruelty for the purpose of section is to be taken as behaviour by one spouse towards the other, which causes reasonable apprehension in the mind of the latter that it is not safe for him or her to continue the matrimonial relationship with the other. Mental cruelty is a state of mind and feeling with the other spouse due to the behaviour or behavioural pattern of the other. Unlike the case of physical cruelty, mental cruelty is difficulty to establish by direct evidence. It is necessarily a matter of interference to be drawn up from the facts and circumstances of the case.
The facts of Dastane v. Daatane presents a good example. The wife used to abuse the parents and ancestors of the husband; called the husband a monster in human form; threatened to burn herself and the house; cursed the Dastane family to ruination; tore the mangalsutra twice and said she would not put it again; once abused and insulted the even in the presence of his students; beat the daughter when she was running a high temperature of 104 degree; rubbed chillies on the tongue of an infant child; threatened her husband lose his job and publish the news in the city newspaper; wrote against him to his officers; used to switch on lights at midnight and sit down by the husband’s beside nagging him through the night as a result of which husband prostrated himself before her on several occasions; used to hide his shoes, keys , watch, wallet and other things when he was to go to office, as a result of which on many occasions he went to office without food because of harassment by her. The supreme court held that this is not a case of mere austerity of temper , petulance of manners, rudeness of language or a want of civil attention to the needs of husband and household; these acts are not the ordinary wear and tear of married life; they imperil the husband’s sense of safety, mental happiness, job satisfaction and reputation. The wife was, therefore held guilty of treating her husband with cruelty.
Hope this helps
Regards
Krish Mahajan
