Don’t Be Cruel
Vincent Das and Anuradha Das had an arranged marriage. Anuradha filed for divorce in Maryland based on cruelty, which was granted, after a trial.
Vincent appealed saying his wife had not proven cruelty as grounds for her divorce. He claimed his conduct never endangered her life, person, or health, or would have otherwise caused her to feel apprehension of bodily suffering. In fact, the older cases in Maryland say that marital neglect, rudeness of manner, and the use of profane and abusive language do not constitute cruelty. A divorce cannot be granted merely because the parties have lived together unhappily as a result of unruly tempers and marital wranglings, sallies of passion, harshness or rudeness.
However, there was evidence of several incidents of domestic violence over the history of the marriage including a one year protective order against Vincent. Anuradha said her husband made her stay up all night in order to listen to him, isolated her from her friends and family, hitting, pinching and pulling her hair, and taunted her about what she would do when the protective order expired.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals found that Vincent’s conduct far exceeded mere sallies of passion, harshness or rudeness, and threatened Anuradha’s physical and emotional well-being. It therefore affirmed the judgment of divorce on grounds of cruelty. Das v. Das, 133 Md. App.1, 754 A.2d 441 (2000).
Tags: Cruelty, Das v. Das, domestic violence, Grounds for Divorce, protective order
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