The Jharkhand High Court has dismissed a man’s plea seeking divorce, ruling that allegations including his wife not allowing him to keep a cow at home, locking the bathroom and disconnecting its water supply did not amount to sufficient cruelty to dissolve a long marriage. A division bench comprising Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Sanjay Prasad observed that what constitutes cruelty can vary from one marriage to another and must be assessed based on the facts and circumstances of each case.

The 58-year-old man had claimed that he married his wife in 1989 according to Hindu customs and that they lived together for 31 years in a cordial environment. The couple has three children. According to his plea, his wife’s behaviour changed in June 2020, after which she allegedly threw him out of their home. He said he had since been living in a rented house. He sought divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion and argued that the marriage had broken down beyond reconciliation.

The husband alleged that his wife had repeatedly subjected him to harassment by locking the bathroom, disconnecting its water supply and preventing him from keeping a cow at home. He argued that these actions made living with her “dangerous and injurious”. The family court rejected his divorce petition in 2024, following which he approached the High Court. The court also sent the couple for mediation, but the attempt to resolve their differences was unsuccessful.

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The High Court held that there is no fixed definition of cruelty in matrimonial relationships. Factors such as the couple’s lifestyle, social background, relationship and individual temperaments must be considered when determining whether particular conduct amounts to cruelty. The bench also said desertion requires more than simply living separately; there must be an intention to permanently end the marital relationship. Since the allegations in the case were not considered sufficient to meet the legal threshold for cruelty or desertion, the court declined to dissolve the marriage.

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