In Brief
An Army officer and college faculty member filed cross-appeals in a matrimonial dispute. The husband sought divorce on grounds of mental cruelty, alleging the wife made defamatory complaints to Army authorities and others, damaging his career and reputation. The wife sought restitution of conjugal rights. The Family Court granted the divorce but dismissed the wife's petition. The High Court reversed both orders. The Supreme Court restored the Family Court's decree, holding that the wife's persistent, malicious allegations to superior authorities and public platforms constituted actionable mental cruelty justifying dissolution, despite no judicial finding that the allegations were false. The High Court erred in requiring such findings and in minimizing serious reputational harm as ordinary marital discord.
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