'Preventing wife from going to the kitchen is mental cruelty', in which case did the Bombay High Court make a major comment.

News Topical, Digital Desk : In a significant judgment last week, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court (HC) held that preventing a woman from entering her own kitchen constitutes mental cruelty; it strikes at the very core of her fundamental rights and dignity. The bench emphasized that cooking for women is not just an everyday household chore, but an expression of a woman's dignity, identity, and rightful place in the marital home.

The court issued the ruling while hearing a case filed by a woman living in Akola against her husband, who lives in Nagpur. The woman alleged that her husband and mother-in-law subjected her to mental torture, and that her husband prevented her from entering the kitchen, forcing her to return to her parents' home.

Not allowing entry into the kitchen is mental cruelty

While delivering the verdict in the case, Justice Urmila Joshi Phalke remarked that the allegations against the husband, who lives in Nagpur, prima facie made out a clear case of cruelty. "She was not even allowed into the kitchen and was asked to bring food from outside," the court said, adding that such behavior was sufficient to raise an inference of mental cruelty.

In fact, in her complaint filed from Akola shortly after her marriage on November 29, 2022, the woman alleged that she was repeatedly harassed. According to her complaint, her husband frequently quarreled, restricted her movements, and prevented her from visiting her parents' home. She further claimed that she was prevented from cooking, forced to order food from outside, humiliated, and pressured to seek a divorce; even her belongings were allegedly thrown out of the house.

Husband said – wife filed a case in response to divorce

Following the woman's complaint, an FIR was filed against both the husband and his mother in 2024. Subsequently, challenging the FIR, the husband argued that the case was filed in response to his divorce petition and was based on general, unsubstantiated allegations. However, the prosecution and the complainant argued that the allegations clearly pointed to persistent mental cruelty.

After hearing both sides, the court sided with the prosecution, stating that the allegations against the husband were specific and pointed to deliberate conduct that inflicted mental harm. Further clarifying the legal position, the court reiterated that cruelty under Section 498A includes any such deliberate conduct.

Which is likely to drive a woman to commit suicide, or which causes serious injury or danger to her life, body, or mental health. Partially accepting the husband's plea, the court allowed criminal proceedings against him to continue; while quashing the FIR registered in a related proceeding against the mother-in-law, as the woman's claims were not substantiated.

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