A family court in Jaipur on Wednesday granted divorce to a man on the grounds of physical and mental cruelty, observing that his wife’s prolonged refusal to engage in marital relations for 15 years, coupled with her hostile conduct, amounted to a valid basis for dissolution of marriage.
The judgment was delivered by Family Court Judge Pawan Kumar Garg, who noted that the wife’s sustained denial of conjugal relations and her repeated acts of hostility had caused significant emotional trauma to the husband, leading to the complete breakdown of the marriage.
According to advocate D.S. Shekhawat, the couple was married on November 3, 2003. The husband, who runs a travel agency, filed for divorce in 2021 citing persistent emotional distress caused by his wife’s behaviour.
In his petition, the husband alleged that from the time of their marriage until June 2018, his wife, a government school teacher, repeatedly refused physical intimacy, engaged in frequent quarrels, and made false accusations of domestic violence and dowry harassment. He further stated that she had threatened suicide on multiple occasions, deepening the strain on their relationship.
The court took note of these allegations and found that they constituted physical and mental cruelty. It also highlighted that the wife filed a criminal FIR against the husband only after he initiated divorce proceedings, describing this act as a further instance of cruelty.
In his order, Judge Garg concluded that there was an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and granted the decree of divorce in favour of the husband on the dual grounds of cruelty and the collapse of the marital relationship.
