The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that denying a wife access to the kitchen constitutes mental cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. This decision arose from a complaint by a woman from Akola, Maharashtra, who alleged that her husband restricted her movements, forbade her from cooking, and subjected her to humiliation since their marriage in November 2022. Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke noted that the husband's actions, including forcing her to buy food from outside, indicated prima facie mental cruelty. While the court allowed the prosecution against the husband to proceed, it dismissed the charges against his mother-in-law, citing a lack of specific allegations against her. The court emphasized that cruelty must involve wilful conduct that could harm the woman's mental health or safety, reinforcing the need for precise accusations in such disputes.