The expression cruelty has not been defined in the Hindu Marriage Act. Cruelty for the purpose of Section 13(1)(i-a) is to be taken as a behaviour by one spouse towards the other, which causes a 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. Cruelty can be physical or mental. …………. In the decision in Samar Ghosh case (supra), this Court set out illustrative cases where inference of mental cruelty can be drawn and they are only illustrative and not exhaustive.
Ref legalsafe.in/2015/SC/A009

The concept of cruelty has been summarized in Halsburys Laws of England [Vol.13, 4th Edition Para 1269] as under:
"The general rule in all cases of cruelty is that the entire matrimonial relationship must be considered, and that rule is of special value when the cruelty consists not of violent acts but of injurious reproaches, complaints, accusations or taunts. In cases where no violence is averred, it is undesirable to consider judicial pronouncements with a view to creating certain categories of acts or conduct as having or lacking the nature or quality which renders them capable or incapable in all circumstances of amounting to cruelty; for it is the effect of the conduct rather than its nature which is of paramount importance in assessing a complaint of cruelty. Whether one spouse has been guilty of cruelty to the other is essentially a question of fact and previously decided cases have little, if any, value. The court should bear in mind the physical and mental condition of the parties as well as their social status, and should consider the impact of the personality and conduct of one spouse on the mind of the other, weighing all incidents and quarrels between the spouses from that point of view;

In 24 American Jurisprudence 2d, the term "mental cruelty" has been defined as under:
“Mental Cruelty as a course of unprovoked conduct toward ones spouse which causes embarrassment, humiliation, and anguish so as to render the spouses life miserable and unendurable. The plaintiff must show a course of conduct on the part of the defendant which so endangers the physical or mental health of the plaintiff as to render continued cohabitation unsafe or improper, although the plaintiff need not establish actual instances of physical abuse."

Words and Phrases - Expression cruelty
The expression has an inseparable nexus with human conduct or human behaviour - It is always dependent upon the social strata or the milieu to which the parties belong, their ways of life, relationship, temperaments and emotions that have been conditioned by their social status.

Section 13(1)(iii) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
mental disorder as a ground of divorce is only where it is of such a kind and degree that the appellant cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent. Where the parties are young and the mental disorder is of such a type that sexual act and procreation of children is not possible it may furnish a good ground for nullifying the marriage because to beget children from a Hindu wedlock is one of the principal aim of Hindu Marriage where sanskar of marriage is advised for progeny and offspring. This view was taken in AIR 1991 MP 205.

--- LEGAL SAFE ---

OUR SPECIALIZATION IN COURT CASES
Arbitration ! Civil ! Company ! Contract ! Criminal ! Educational ! Matrimonial ! PIL ! Recovery ! Service

OUR PRESENCE