(supra), the Court has held that mental cruelty would cause even more serious injury than the physical harm can, and the same can create, in the mind of the injured person such apprehension as is contemplated by Section 13(1)(ia). In Naveen Kohli (supra), the Supreme Court observed that cruelty is a course of conduct of one which is adversely affecting the other. It may be mental or physical. It may be intentional or unintentional. If it is mental, the enquiry must begin as to the nature of the cruel treatment and then as to the impact of such treatment in the mind of the spouse. The test is to determine whether it cause reasonable apprehension that it would be harmful and injurious to live with the other – ultimately, it is a matter of inference to be drawn by taking into account the nature of the conduct and its effect on the complaining spouse. There may be cases where the conduct complained is bad enough and per se unlawful and illegal. In such cases, the impact or the injurious effect on the other spouse may not be enquired into or considered, and cruelty would be established if the conduct itself is proved or admitted. Similarly, in Praveen Mehta (supra) and Samar Ghosh (supra), the Supreme Court observed mental cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) can broadly be defined as that conduct, which inflicts upon the other party such mental pain and suffering as would make it not possible for that party to live with the other. It should be of such nature that the parties cannot reasonably be expected to live together.
