Cruelty - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition cruelty

Definition :

Cruelty, it is contemplated as a conduct of such type which endangers the living of the petitioner with the respondent. Cruelty consists of acts which are dangerous to life, limb or health. Cruelty for the purpose of the Act means where one spouse has so treated the other and manifested such feelings towards her or him as to have inflicted bodily injury , or to have caused reasonable apprehension of bodily injury, suffering or to have injured health. Cruelty may be physical or mental. Mental cruelty is the conduct of other spouse which causes mental suffering or fear to the matrimonial life of the other, Savitri Pandey v. Prem Chandra Pandey, AIR 2002 SC 591 (595): (2002) 2 SCC 73. [Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, s. 13(1)(ia)]

Harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security would also constitute cruelty, Shobha Rani v. Modhukar Reddi, (1988) 1 SCC 105: AIR 1988 SC 121 (124). (Penal Code, 1860, s. 498A)

For the purposes of constituting the offence need not be physical. Even mental torture or abnormal behaviour may amount to cruelty and harassment in a given case, Gananath Pattnaik v. State of Orissa, (2002) 2 SCC 619 (621): 2002 SCC (Cri) 461; See also Shanti v. State of Haryana, AIR 1991 SC 1226: (1991) 1 SCC 371. (Indian Penal Code, 1860, s. 498A, Expln)

Such conduct on the part of a husband or wife [see forth v. Fort, (1867) 36 LJ P&M 122] as entitles the other party to a judicial separation by reason of danger to life or health. The communication of veneral diseaseis suchconduct, Browning v. Browning, 1911, p. 161. See (English) Judicature Act, 1925, s. 185, replacing (English) Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 85), s. 16, and the (English) Summary Jurisdiction (Mrried Women) Act, 1895 (58 & 59 Vict. c. 39), by which a Court of Summary Jurisdiction may order that a wife whose husband has been convicted of an aggravated assault upon her, or has been guilty of persistent cruelty to her, can leave and live apart from him, and shall be no longer bound to cohabit withhim. Consult Browne and Watts on Divroce; and see HUSBAND AND WIFE, and ANIMALS.

Since 1923 cruelty is no longer a necessary elementin a divorce petition by a woman; see (English) Judicature Act, 1925, s. 176, which displaces the (English) Matrimonial Causes Act, 1923 (13 & 14 Geo. 5, c.19), s. 1.

What constitute cruelty must depend upon the terms of this stature which provides: Either party to a marriage, whether solemnized before or after the commencement of this Act, may present a petition to the district court praying for a decree for judicial separation on the grounds that other party has treated the petitioner with such cruelty as to cause a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the petitioner that it will be harmful or injurious for the petitioner to live with the other party. The inquiry therefore has to be whether the conduct charged as cruelty is of such a character as to cause in the mind of the petitioner a reasonable apprehension that it will be harmful or injurious for him to live with the respondent. It is not necessary, as under the English law, that the cruelty must be of such a character as to cause 'danger' to life., limb or health or as to give rise to a reasonable apprehen-sion of such a danger. Clearly, danger to life, limb or health or a reasonable apprehension of it is a higher requirement than a reasonable apprehen-sion that it is harmful or injurious for one spouse to live with the other, Dr. N.G. Dastane v. Mr. S. Dastane, (1975) 2 SCC 326: AIR 1975 SC 1534: (1975) 3 SCR 967.

--The expression 'cruelty' has been used in relation to human conduct or human behaviour. It is conduct in relation to or in respect of matrimonial duties or obligations. Cruelty is a course or conduct of one, which is adversely affecting the other. The cruelty may be mental or physical, international or unintentional, A. Jayachandra v. Aneel Kumar, (2005) 2 SCC 22 (29). [Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, s. 13(1)(1a)]

The intentional and indicious infliction of mental or physical suffering on a living creature, esp. a human, Black's Laws Dictionary, 7th Edn.

Cruelty, to amount to cruelty , there must be such wilful treatment of the party which caused suffering in body or mind either as an actual fact or by way of apprehension in such a manner as to render to continued living together of spouses harmful or injurious having regard to circumstance of the case. Cruelty is a course of conduct and one which is adversity affecting the other, Vinita Saxena v. Pankaj Pandit, AIR 2006 SC 1662.

Which is a ground for dissolution of a marriage may be defined as wilful and unjustifiable conduct of such a character as to cause danger to life, limb or health, bodily or mentally or as to give rise to a reasonable apprehension of such a danger, Naveen Kohli v. Neelu Kohli, AIR 2006 SC 1675 [Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, s. 13(1)(ia)].

In common English acceptation denotes a state of conduct which is painful and distressing to another, Arvind Singh v. State of Bihar, (2001) 6 SC 407 (Indian Penal Code, s. 498A)

Is expressed by the legislatures: (a) involves three specific situations (i) to drive the woman to commit suicide, or (ii) to cause grave injury or (iii) danger to life, limb or health, both mental and physical and thus involving a physical torture or atrocity in Explanation, (b) there is absence of physical injury but the legislature thought it fit to include only coercive harassment with obviously as the legislative intent expressed is equally heinous to match the physical injury; where as one is patent, the other one is latent but equally serious in terms of the provisions of the statute since the same would also embrace the attributes of cruelty in terms of s. 498A, Girdhar Shankar Tawade v. State of Maharashtra, (2002) 5 SCC 177 [Indian Penal Code, s. 498A]

Which are likely to drive a woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health, whether mental or physical of the woman are required of be established in order, Hiralal v. State (Govt. of NCT) Delhi, (2003) 8 SCC 80.