Madras High Court rules frequent visits to maternal home constitute cruelty

The Madras High Court has ruled that a wife’s frequent, unjustified visits to her maternal home and pressure on her husband to establish a separate residence constitute cruelty. The bench, comprising Justices PT Asha and N Mala, upheld a Family Court order granting a divorce to a husband, noting that such conduct can create a sense of insecurity in a spouse.

The court emphasized that marriage is a reciprocal relationship that requires compassion and mutual adjustment, rather than being dictated by one partner. In this specific case, the court observed that the wife had pressured the husband, an only son, to leave his joint family, which the court deemed a form of cruelty given his responsibility to care for his parents in their old age.

The ruling stated that frequent separations, even if temporary, for invalid reasons can cause a husband to fear that his wife might “pick up a fight with him and leave him at the drop of a hat.” The court also noted the wife's lack of cooperation during the trial and her failure to undergo cross-examination to contest the husband's allegations.