Cruelty for Woman and Man May Differ, Says SC, Asks Courts to Adopt Broad Approach in Cases Where Wife Seeks Divorce

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and MM Sundresh said the word ‘cruelty’ under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 has no fixed meaning, and therefore, gives a very wide discretion to the Court to apply it “liberally and contextually”