“Madhya Pradesh High Court Grants Divorce on Grounds of Refusal to Consummate Marriage“
In a recent decision, the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted divorce to a man based on the grounds of his wife’s refusal to consummate the marriage and denial of physical intimacy since their wedding in 2006.
According to the court’s order, the non-consummation of marriage and denial of physical intimacy were deemed as forms of mental cruelty. The man claimed that his wife, whom he married in July 2006, refused to cohabit with him, citing that she was forced into the marriage.
Allegedly, the wife expressed her love for someone else and urged the man to help unite them. Following the marriage, the man went to the US for work, and by September, the woman moved in with her family and never returned.
In 2011, the man filed for divorce in a family court in Bhopal, but his plea was rejected in 2014. Undeterred, he appealed to the high court.
The high court, in its order, emphasized that the unilateral refusal to engage in sexual intercourse for a significant period, without a valid reason or physical incapacity, can be considered as a form of mental cruelty.
This case sheds light on the legal implications of denial of physical intimacy within a marriage and how it can be grounds for divorce, as determined by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.