Husband moved High Court after wife refused to allow physical relationship, divorce granted
Bilaspur. In a significant decision, the Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that preventing a husband from having physical relations constitutes mental cruelty. Following this, the High Court set aside the Family Court’s order and granted divorce on the husband’s appeal. The division bench of Justice Rajni Dubey and Justice AK Prasad stated that 11 years of separation and the wife’s unwillingness to have physical relations constitutes mental cruelty. In this case, the husband will have to pay his wife a permanent maintenance allowance of 20 lakh rupees within two months.
In fact, a 45-year-old man from Ambikapur was married to a woman from Raipur on May 30, 2009, according to Hindu customs. The husband alleges that his wife left him and went to her parents’ home just one month after the wedding. Following this, he filed an application in the Family Court seeking divorce under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that his wife was refusing to fulfill her marital obligations. In 2013, his wife lived with him for a few days in Ambikapur. However, she continued to refuse physical relations. The woman also threatened her husband that she would commit suicide if he attempted physical relations with her. The wife has been living at her parents’ home since May 2014 and has not returned despite her husband’s repeated attempts. Even after the case was filed, she never contacted her husband. Furthermore, she refused to participate in any family occasion, whether happy or sad.
The wife, meanwhile, dismissed her husband’s allegations as baseless, stating that her husband was a devotee of a nun and was disinterested in marital relations due to his immersion in yoga. She alleged that her husband did not want children and accused him of mental and physical abuse. The wife initially filed a petition for restitution of marital rights, but later withdrew it. After hearing both parties, the family court dismissed her husband’s petition. Following this, the husband appealed to the High Court, challenging the family court’s decision, stating that the family court had dismissed his divorce petition without even considering his arguments. He also stated that the wife’s support is essential to a successful married life.
The High Court, after examining the statements and records of both parties, found that the husband and wife had been living separately for 11 years. The wife admitted during cross-examination that she no longer wished to continue her marital life with her husband. The court stated that such a long separation and a clear refusal to return to the relationship constituted mental cruelty. After a hearing, the division bench granted the husband’s divorce petition.
