Picking up a quarrel with husband and his parents is not cruelty, says HC

In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court recently held that picking up a quarrel with one’s husband and his parents would not amount to cruelty. The HC further observed that general allegations like not preparing food for one’s husband and avoiding him cannot come under the ambit of cruelty. The ruling was delivered by a division bench of Justice Sambhaji Shinde and Justice Sopan Gavhane, while hearing an appeal filed by Manohar Jadhav, challenging the orders of a Family Court. He had sought divorce on grounds of cruelty and adultery.

Having considered facts of the case, Justice Shinde said, “From perusal of the entire evidence on record, we are of the considered opinion that the allegations regarding cruelty are general and vague. A decree of divorce on grounds of cruelty cannot be granted on the basis of general allegations levelled by the husband against the wife and that too without mentioning the manner in which the wife ill-treated the husband.”

“General allegations that the wife used to avoid her husband and his family members, used to often visit her parental house, was not preparing food for her husband and that she used to pick up quarrels with her husband and his parents cannot constitute cruelty,” Justice Shinde ruled.

The judges were hearing an appeal moved by Jadhav, challenging orders of the Family Court denying him divorce on grounds of adultery and cruelty. In his divorce plea, Jadhav claimed that his wife often quarrelled with him or his parents and sometimes even insulted him. He accused his wife of having an extramarital affair and claimed that one of their two daughters was not born from him.