FAILURE TO TAKE TREATMENT FOR MENTAL ISSUES AMOUNTS TO CRUELTY TO SPOUSE: KERALA HIGH COURT The Kerala High Court, while upholding a divorce decree observed that not taking treatment for mental issues in order to maintain a peaceful and harmonious family atmosphere, results in cruelty to the spouse. In the present case the husband approached the family court to dissolve the marriage under Section 10 of the Divorce Act, alleging that the wife had behavioral disorders since the inception of marriage and also that she had caused him both mental and physical trauma. The court observed that in July 2005, the wife went to her paternal house and never came back to live with her husband and children. Further, the bench of Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Sophy Thomas observed that, law cannot recognize different varieties of cruelty as Hindu cruelty, Muslim cruelty, Christian cruelty or secular cruelty to justify a decree for divorce, the concept of matrimonial cruelty as a ground for divorce cannot be different for persons of different religions merely because different words are used in different personal laws governing divorce matters. Hence, the court considering the fact that the parties have lived separately for the last 16 years upheld the divorce decree. Reddy and Reddy Law Firm is well experienced in the field of litigation and has successfully represented clients in civil, commercial and criminal litigation proceedings before the relevant Indian courts.