Stopping Woman From Entering Kitchen Of Husband's Home Is Cruelty: Bombay High Court

Preventing a woman from cooking in her marital home is a form of mental torture that strikes at her dignity, the Bombay High Court has said. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court was hearing a man's challenge to a cruelty case his wife filed against him.

The two married in November 2022. The woman has said that the disputes began soon after. According to her complaint, she was treated as a subordinate in the house, and her fundamental rights were violated.

The wife has alleged that she was barred from entering the kitchen. She claimed her right to cook food at home was snatched away, and she was forced to source food from outside. Furthermore, she claimed that her jewellery was thrown out of the house, obstacles were created to prevent her from visiting her parents' home, and she was pressured for a divorce. The husband's side argued that the complaint was filed in retaliation for his divorce petition.

The bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke refused to dismiss the harassment charge against the husband, noting that constantly harassing a wife, restricting her movements, and depriving her of basic necessities in the house are concrete examples of mental cruelty. 

"... there is no doubt that the object of introducing Chapter XXA containing Section 498-A in the Indian Penal Code was to prevent the torture to a woman by her husband or by relatives of her husband," the court noted in its order. 

The wife had also alleged that the husband harassed her at the behest of her mother-in-law. However, the court noted that these allegations were vague. Clarifying that she cannot be made an accused simply because she is the husband's mother, the court directed that the charges against the mother-in-law be dismissed.