Why the Supreme Court's Ruling Resonates with Me
I read the Times of India piece, "Asking wife to keep expense sheet not cruelty, rules SC"[^1], and felt the familiar tension between law, social norms, and lived marriage. The Court quashed an FIR that accused a husband of cruelty largely on the basis that asking a spouse to keep a record of household expenses — even an Excel sheet — does not, by itself, meet the legal threshold of "cruelty." The bench described many such allegations as the daily "wear and tear" of marriage and warned against turning ordinary marital strife into criminal litigation.
I want to unpack what this means — legally, socially and practically — and to explain why I find this judgment both necessary and uncomfortable at once.
The legal point — precision matters
From a legal perspective the message is crisp: criminal law requires specific conduct that rises to the level of cruelty or coercion. Vague, omnibus allegations without concrete incidents, dates or corroborating details weaken a prosecution and risk misuse of criminal machinery. The Court rejected the idea that financial dominance or routine domestic control, without tangible mental or physical harm, should automatically be treated as criminal cruelty.
That emphasis on particulars — on evidence and on legal thresholds — is essential if we want courts to be gatekeepers rather than pressure-valves for private vendettas.
The social point — a mirror, not an endorsement
At the same time, the Court’s observation that this is a "mirror reflection" of social realities hit home. Many households still have skewed financial dynamics: who controls the purse strings, how financial decisions are made, who keeps records and why. Recognising a social fact is not the same as endorsing it.
We can accept the Court’s caution about criminalisation without pretending the underlying social problem — financial control, taunting about body/weight, lack of care during pregnancy — disappears. These are real harms even when they do not meet the criminal-law standard.
Where law, empathy and policy should meet
I think the judgment points to a three-part answer we should be pursuing simultaneously:
- Strengthen non-criminal remedies: family courts, mediation, counselling and enforceable civil mechanisms for financial transparency and maintenance can often be more constructive than criminal trials.
- Insist on better policing of complaints: police and magistrates need training to triage matrimonial complaints—identifying genuine criminality while discouraging frivolous litigation that weaponises criminal law.
- Preserve access for real victims: a high bar for criminalisation must not translate into a higher barrier for those who are genuinely harmed. Evidence-gathering pathways, witness protection and quick family-court relief must remain robust.
Practical takeaways for couples and practitioners
- For couples: Keep clear, consensual financial arrangements. An expense sheet is a tool, not a verdict. Transparency works best when it’s mutual, agreed and respectful.
- For lawyers and judges: Scrutinise matrimonial FIRs for specificity. Protect criminal law from becoming a tool of revenge; yet preserve legal tools for genuine cruelty or abuse.
- For policymakers: Invest in family-court capacity, mediation services, and public legal awareness so that people have accessible, proportionate remedies.
A personal note on continuity
I have long watched how courts and technology intersect with everyday life. In earlier posts I argued for judicious, technology-enabled court reforms to reduce misuse and speed access to justice — not to replace discretion, but to make the system more responsive and fair (see my reflections on digital courts and judicial efficiency)[^2]. Today's ruling is different in substance but similar in spirit: it asks the system to be precise, pragmatic and protective of process.
Final reflection
I welcome the Court’s insistence on careful use of criminal provisions. But I remain wary: legal thresholds are only one part of social change. To reduce the day-to-day power imbalances that make expense sheets feel like instruments of control, we need better conversations — at home, at work, in law schools and in community forums. The law can and should shield the truly vulnerable; society must do the rest.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
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[^1]: Asking wife to keep expense sheet not cruelty, rules SC — Times of India
[^2]: 24x7 e-courts — Hemen Parekh
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