New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS): The Delhi High Court has granted divorce to an estranged couple, saying that a wife lodging false police complaints and keeping the prospect of being summoned to a police station hanging over her husband's head is an act of cruelty.

A court of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said that the constant threat of legal action, false allegations, and the mental distress caused by visits to a police station amount to cruelty and can severely impact a person's mental well-being.

In this case, the wife had filed a police complaint against her husband and his family, accusing them of cruelty. She even alleged that her father-in-law attempted to rape her in the presence of her mother-in-law. The accused were subsequently acquitted by the trial court.

The bench pointed out that the couple had been living separately for nearly 17 years, and this continuous separation was in itself a valid ground for divorce according to the Supreme Court.

The court stated that not granting a divorce in this situation would be detrimental to both parties, as there was no chance of reconciliation and the prolonged separation filled with false allegations and legal troubles had become a source of mental cruelty.

The court said that any insistence on continuing the relationship would only inflict further cruelty on both individuals.

The marital discord had reached a point where trust, faith, understanding, and love were completely lost between the couple, the court observed, and concluded that they could not reasonably be expected to live together any longer, leading to the dissolution of the marriage.