India, Aug. 9 -- Nearly two weeks after the Bombay high court ruled that taunts over skin colour or cooking skills do not amount to "cruelty" under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), its Aurangabad bench has made a similar observation-holding that remarks about a wife's clothing or cooking abilities cannot be treated as "grave cruelty" by husband or relative under section 498-A.

The order came in a case involving a woman who had married on March 24, 2022, nearly a decade after divorcing her first husband. She alleged that within two months of her second marriage, her husband and in-laws began harassing her-demanding Rs.15 lakh to buy a flat, insulting her, and concealing information about her husband's physical and mental health. She claimed s...