Critical Analysis of Legal Dimensions of Cruelty in Marital Relationship in India

Abstract

Initially, the idea of cruelty did not exist as a component of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The recognition of this cause for divorce was introduced in 1976 as an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955. The recognition of cruelty as a basis for divorce in a married partnership occurred solely after the amendment. There has been a consistent dependence on the English court and its rulings. Over the years, the Indian legal system has made significant progress in aligning itself with English court rulings. It is important to recognize cultural disparities, as they might provide a clearer understanding of the ambiguous concept of cruelty, which often contributes to the dissolution of marriages. newline newlineThe following research aims to investigate the definition and acceptance of quotCrueltyquot in the Indian Court of Law. It is well acknowledged that there is a significant variation in the understanding and use of this phrase. Through this research, I aim to investigate the topic and integrate the perspective of how individuals perceive and define cruelty, which varies according to personal experiences and cultural backgrounds. Cruelty which is a ground for dissolution of marriage may be defined as willful and unjustifiable conduct of such character as to cause danger to life, limb or health, bodily or mental, or as to give rise to a reasonable apprehension of such a danger. Yet the question that has been always asked and is open to speculations still is how we define Cruelty . It cannot be denied that there is no specific definition of the term cruelty and over the years it has been left to the judgmental discretion and faith on the law to be defining and in accordance giving justice. This research would attempt to study and understand cruelty as a ground of divorce in India in the current context and deal with the question of redefining the term Cruelty under various civil and criminal legislations. newline