The Kerala High Court upheld a divorce after a wife claimed her husband was uninterested in sex and solely focused on spirituality. The court ruled that forcing her to adopt his spiritual lifestyle constituted mental cruelty. It also noted that his lack of interest in family life amounted to neglect of marital responsibilities. This decision reinforces the importance of mutual commitment in marriage.
The Kerala High Court recently affirmed the decision to grant a divorce to a woman who asserted that her husband showed a lack of interest in sexual relations and family life, instead obsessively engaging in spiritual activities such as visiting temples.
A Bench consisting of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice MB Snehalatha expressed concern over the woman’s claim that her husband attempted to impose his spiritual lifestyle on her.
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The Court stated,
“A marriage does not grant one partner the authority to dictate the other spouse’s personal beliefs, whether it is spiritual or otherwise,”
It further noted that the husband’s indifference toward family life indicated a failure to meet his marital responsibilities, and that compelling his wife to adopt his spiritual practices, which caused her emotional distress, amounted to mental cruelty.
The Court found no reason to doubt the wife’s assertions, emphasizing that mental cruelty, a ground for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, is established when a husband neglects his marital duties.
The Court stated,
“Persistent neglect, lack of affection and denial of conjugal rights without valid reasons cause severe mental trauma to the spouse and we find no reason to disbelieve the version of the petitioner that she was subjected to severe mental trauma,”
The couple, married in 2016, experienced significant strain in their relationship. The wife attributed this to her husband’s extreme religious practices, asserting that he was uninterested in intimacy or having children. She claimed that upon returning from work, he focused solely on temple visits and ashrams, often forcing her to accompany him.
Additionally, she stated that he hindered her pursuit of postgraduate studies.
Initially, the woman filed for divorce in 2019 but retracted her plea after her husband assured her he would change.
However, by 2022, she found it necessary to file again due to his unchanged behavior, leading to the family court granting her a divorce.
The husband subsequently appealed to the High Court, arguing that his spiritual practices were misinterpreted and denying any neglect of his marital responsibilities or obstruction of his wife’s education. He contended that it was the wife who insisted on postponing having children until after completing her postgraduate studies.
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Ultimately, the Court determined that the marriage had irretrievably broken down due to the husband’s ongoing neglect and emotional abuse.
The judgment concluded,
“The evidence on record would show that the mutual love, trust and care between the spouses has been lost and the marriage has been irretrievably broken, as rightly found by the learned Family Court,”
Thus, the Court upheld the divorce decree and dismissed the husband’s appeal. Advocates AT Anilkumar, V Shylaja, Jose Paul Thottam, Fathima Razak, Aswin Anilkumar, and Jibymon Joseph represented the husband.
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