The Bombay High Court has held that repeated threats and attempts at suicide is tantamount to mental cruelty and can therefore be a ground for seeking divorce. This judgment will provide the threatened spouse with some relief.

The Bench, comprising Justices Sharad Bobde and S.J. Kathawala, declared that it was not possible for a couple to maintain a peaceful married life if one spouse repeatedly threatened to commit suicide in public or at home.

The court was hearing a case against the judgement of a Pune family court that had granted a husband a divorce in 2002 on the grounds that his wife was temperamental, often fought with him and tried to commit suicide.

The couple had been separated for 17 years. During the time they had co-habited, the wife had attempted or threatened to commit suicide several times by consuming insecticide, pouring kerosene on her head and jumping into the Mula river. The District Court had held that these acts constituted cruelty towards the husband, and were sufficient grounds for divorce.

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