MUMBAI, July 19 -- A woman insulting her husband in front of his friends, denying him physical relations, and making baseless allegations of extra-marital affairs amount to cruelty and are grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, the Bombay high court held on Thursday. Stating that such conduct amounts to mental agony and humiliation, a bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Dr Neela Gokhale held that these were sufficient grounds to grant divorce under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act. The bench was hearing an appeal filed by a woman against a Pune family court's November 2019 judgement allowing her husband's plea for divorce. The couple had gotten married in December 2013 but separated within 12 months due to personal differences. In July 2015, the woman filed a complaint with the police against her estranged husband and his family, alleging that they had harassed and humiliated her, kept her streedhan (wealth and other assets) and told her to leave the house. However, she later approached the Pune family court for restitution of conjugal rights, claiming that she did not want the marriage to end. Her husband, on the other hand, filed for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The man denied the harassment allegations and, instead, highlighted the differences between them. He stated that his wife refused to maintain physical relations with him, insulted him in front of his friends, alleged that he was having extra-marital affairs, tortured and harassed his differently abled sister, resulting in the deterioration of her health, and even behaved irresponsibly with his office staff. Her behaviour caused him mental agony, he argued, while also applying for divorce. In November 2019, the family court dismissed the wife's petition for restitution of conjugal rights and granted the couple a divorce, based on the husband's plea. Aggrieved by this, the woman approached the Bombay high court in 2021, challenging the family court's judgment. She also filed an appeal for her to be granted a maintenance amount of Rs.10,000 per month. In an attempt to reach an amicable settlement, the high court bench held marathon mediation sessions with the couple, but could not break the deadlock. Concluding that there was no scope for reconciliation, the court dismissed the petition. Significantly, the court found the claims of the woman unsubstantiated. It stated that the wife's conduct, based on the evidence on record, can be construed as "cruelty" against her husband. It held that her behaviour towards her husband's employees was sure to cause him agony. Similarly, humiliating her husband in front of his friends was also "cruelty," it said. "Refusal to have a physical relationship and making allegations of extra-marital relations is also cruelty by the wife," the court added. Moreover, it also observed that the wife's "apathetic and indifferent behaviour" with the husband's differently-abled sister is sure to cause pain to him and his family. Therefore, the court found no infirmity in the family court's judgement and rejected the woman's appeal for maintenance....