Recently, Delhi High Court affirmed a divorce decree on the grounds of cruelty, granting relief to the respondent-husband who had initiated the separation from his wife.

The judgment delved into the intricate details of the case and provided insight into the court's reasoning behind its decision.

In the judgment, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna and Justice Suresh Kumar Kait stated, “The ill-conduct must be precedent for a fairly lengthy period where the relationship has deteriorated to an extent that because of the acts and behaviour of a spouse, one party finds it extremely difficult to live with the other party no longer may amount to mental cruelty.”

The judgment also shed light on instances of physical abuse, notably an incident in October 2005 when the appellant-wife's brothers physically assaulted the respondent-husband, resulting in injuries that required medical treatment.

Additionally, the court took into consideration the appellant-wife's previous criminal complaints against the respondent-husband and his family members. Although such complaints were indeed filed, they were subsequently dismissed, prompting questions regarding their validity and the timing of their submission.

In her defense, the appellant-wife denied all allegations of cruelty and argued that she, too, had suffered mistreatment during their marriage.

The bench underscored, “The term ‘cruelty’ as used in Section 13(1)(ia) of the Act, 1955 cannot be defined in given parameters and there cannot be a comprehensive definition of ‘cruelty’ within which all kinds of cases of cruelty can be covered. Each case has to be considered depending upon its own unique factual circumstances.”

The court ultimately reached the conclusion that the persistent differences, the history of criminal complaints, and the ongoing quarrels had caused significant mental distress to the respondent-husband, leading to a complete breakdown of their marital relationship. As a result, the court upheld the divorce decree on the grounds of cruelty.

While the appellant-wife attempted to introduce allegations of the respondent-husband’s subsequent marriage and children, the court emphasized that these events occurred after the long separation of the parties and did not affect the validity of the divorce.