Published on: 16 October 2022 at 20:56 IST
Court – Supreme Court of India
Citation – Rupali Devi v/s State of UP (2019) 5 SCC 384
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has acknowledged that the emotional distress or psychological effect on women continues to traumatise her even after she leaves the matrimonial home citing acts of Cruelty by the husband and his relatives.
It is held that act of cruelty entails mental trauma and the psychological distress caused by the acts of the husband / relatives which includes physical cruelty or abusive and humiliating verbal exchanges.
Para – 14
“Cruelty” which is the crux of the offence under Section 498-A IPC is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary to mean “the intentional and malicious infliction of mental or physical suffering on a living creature, esp. a human; abusive treatment; outrage (abuse, inhuman treatment, indignity)”. Cruelty can be both physical or mental cruelty.
The impact on the mental health of the wife by overt acts on the part of the husband or his relatives; the mental stress and trauma of being driven away from the matrimonial home and her helplessness to go back to the same home for fear of being ill-treated are aspects that cannot be ignored while understanding the meaning of the expression “cruelty” appearing in Section 498-A of the Penal Code.
The emotional distress or psychological effect on the wife, if not the physical injury, is bound to continue to traumatise the wife even after she leaves the matrimonial home and takes shelter at the parental home.
Even if the acts of physical cruelty committed in the matrimonial house may have ceased and such acts do not occur at the parental home, there can be no doubt that the mental trauma and the psychological distress caused by the acts of the husband including verbal exchanges, if any, that had compelled the wife to leave the matrimonial home and take shelter with her parents would continue to persist at the parental home.
Mental cruelty borne out of physical cruelty or abusive and humiliating verbal exchanges would continue in the parental home even though there may not be any overt act of physical cruelty at such place.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra
Key Words – Emotional Distress, Psychological Effect, Matrimonial House, Cruelty.