The Kerala High Court has held that a woman demanding a separate residence away from her husband’s family without sufficient reason, amounted to an act of cruelty. A Division Bench of Justice Satish Ninan and Justice P. Krishna Kumar said this while considering an appeal filed by the husband who challenged a family court order that rejected his petition for divorce. The wife returned to Kerala from Dubai where she stayed with her husband’s family, on her seventh month of pregnancy. The other acts of ‘cruelty’ included conduct of the child’s naming and feeding ceremonies without consulting him. Her demand for separate residence was without any valid reason, the court observed, adding that she deserted her husband without any justifiable cause.