The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a landmark decision, has clarified that refraining from sexual intercourse for a prolonged duration, without being physically disabled or providing any valid reason, amounts to mental cruelty perpetrated by the wife against her husband.

With the wife having lived separately from her husband for eight years without establishing a relationship, the court has determined that the husband is entitled to seek divorce due to this cruelty.

The woman, a resident of Haryana, contested the divorce decree issued by the family court. It was revealed that she had been married in 1999, after which the relationship between the couple began to sour. In 2016, the husband filed for divorce in the family court, leading to the court granting the divorce in 2019. Since 2016, she has been residing separately from her husband with their two daughters.

The petitioner's husband stated that the petitioner had become associated with a religious group, and their relationship had ceased for an extended period. The High Court emphasized that if an individual refuses to engage in physical intimacy for a prolonged duration, it constitutes mental cruelty towards the other partner. Mental cruelty cannot solely be dismissed if the partner refusing sexual relations is not physically incapable or lacks a valid reason for doing so.

In this instance, where the couple has been living apart for an extended period with no prospect of reconciliation, the High Court concluded that the family court had not erred in granting the divorce decree. Given these circumstances, the High Court dismissed the wife's petition and upheld the divorce order.