The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently ruled that the denial of physical intimacy by a wife constitutes mental cruelty. According to the court, such behavior provides a valid basis for a husband to seek divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.

A division bench comprising Justices Sheel Nagu and Vinay Saraf overturned a family court's decision in Bhopal. The family court, in its November 2014 ruling, had denied a man's request for a divorce. The man argued that his wife's prolonged refusal to engage in sexual intercourse without any justifiable reason amounted to mental cruelty. The high court quashed the family court's judgment, acknowledging the husband's claim that such behavior constituted grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The court observed that the wife had consistently refused to consummate the marriage, starting from the wedding day on July 12, 2006, until the husband's departure from India on July 28, 2006. The bench highlighted that the marriage had never been consummated due to the wife's unilateral decision to abstain from sexual intercourse for an extended period without providing any valid reason. This, according to the court, underscored the husband's contention that the wife's behavior amounted to a denial of marital rights and constituted a significant ground for seeking a divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The Court also emphasized that the wife did not contest the husband's claim, despite his explicit assertion. Consequently, the court maintained that the husband's contentions and pleadings should not be dismissed and must be acknowledged and accepted in their entirety. This lack of opposition from the wife further strengthened the court's view regarding the validity of the husband's grounds for seeking a divorce based on the wife's refusal to consummate the marriage, considering it a form of mental cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The Court pointed out that the family court had made an error in judgment by asserting that the wife's refusal to consummate the marriage could not be considered a valid ground for dissolving the marital bond. Contrary to this view, the High Court, in its decision, recognized and affirmed that the denial by the wife to engage in the marital act amounted to a legitimate and acceptable reason for seeking the dissolution of the marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The Court additionally observed that the wife was fully aware that the husband would be leaving India shortly after their marriage. Despite this awareness, the wife chose to deny consummation of the marriage during the limited time they had together before his departure. This factor likely played a role in the court's determination that the wife's actions were intentional and not based on any reasonable grounds, further supporting the husband's claim of mental cruelty as a valid reason for seeking a divorce.

"During this period, the husband was hopeful to consummate the marriage, but the same was denied by the wife and certainly this act (of wife) amounts to mental cruelty," the Court held.  

Hence, it quashed and set aside the judgment of the family court.

Case Title: Sudeepto Saha vs Moumita Saha