Wife Pressurizing Husband To Sever Bonds With His Family Is Cruelty, Ground For Divorce: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that a wife's “persistent and pressurising conduct” to sever the husband's bonds with his family certainly amounts to cruelty and is a ground for divorce.

A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar further said the act of a wife of publicly berating the husband at his workplace in the presence of his colleagues and superiors and repeated public humiliation and verbal abuse also amounts to mental cruelty.

The Bench was dealing with a divorce dispute wherein it noted that the wife consistently asserted that she did not wish to live in a joint family setup and pressured her husband to partition the family property and live separately from his widowed mother and divorced sister.

The Court ruled that a wife's act of giving repeated threats and filing of police complaints against the husband and his family members is also cruelty which would constitute a ground for divorce.

The Bench was dealing with an appeal filed by the wife challenging a family court order dissolving her marriage with the husband on the ground of cruelty by her under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Dismissing the appeal, the Court said that the husband succeeded in establishing, through consistent and corroborated testimony, acts of cruelty attributable to the wife.

“The established facts, when examined in light of settled law, leave no doubt that the Appellant's conduct constituted cruelty under the HMA,” the Court said.

It added that on one occasion, the wife behaved discourteously at an official party towards the husband's superior, causing significant embarrassment and placing him in an awkward position.

“Further, in May 2009, following the Respondent's refusal to accede to the Appellant's demand for separation, she publicly berated him at his workplace in the presence of colleagues and superiors, accusing him of neglect and of failing to prioritise her happiness. Such conduct, characterised by repeated public humiliation and verbal abuse, amounts to mental cruelty,” the Court said.

“Probably the most obvious act of cruelty, which by itself would constitute a ground for divorce, is the repeated threat and filing of police complaints by the Appellant against the Respondent and his family members,” it added.

“In the present case, the Respondent has successfully demonstrated a sustained pattern of pressure, humiliation, threats, and alienation. Taken together, these acts go well beyond the “ordinary wear and tear of married life” and constitute mental cruelty of such gravity that the Respondent cannot reasonably be expected to endure them,” the Court said.

Title: X v. Y

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1138

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