What Amounts To Cruelty?

Physical violence is not absolutely essential to constitute cruelty and a consistent course of conduct inflicting immeasurable mental agony and torture may well constitute cruelty within the meaning of the Act. Mental cruelty may consist of verbal abuses and insults by using filthy and abusive language leading to constant disturbance of the mental peace of the other party. (i) Cruelty in the matrimonial law means the conduct of such type that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent. (ii) It would follow that the old English law concept of danger is no longer applicable in India. (iii) The making of wild, reckless and baseless allegations of impotency and lack of manliness – itself amount to cruelty in the matrimonial law.