Kerala High Court upholds divorce after wife claims husband has no interest in sex, only keen on spirituality

The Kerala High Court recently upheld the grant of divorce to a woman who claimed that her husband showed no interest in sexual relations or family life but was compulsively pursuing spiritual activities such as temple visits. [XXX v XXX].A Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice MB Snehalatha also took a serious view of the woman's claim that her husband tried to compel her to follow his spiritual lifestyle. "A marriage does not grant one partner the authority to dictate the other spouse's personal beliefs, whether it is spiritual or otherwise. Compelling the wife to adopt his spiritual life causing emotional distress to her, amounts to mental cruelty. Husband's disinterest in family life indicates his failure to fulfill his marital duties," the Court said. .A marriage does not grant one partner the authority to dictate the other spouse's personal beliefs, spiritual or otherwise.Kerala High Court.The Court added that there was no reason to disbelieve the wife's claims. It held that mental cruelty - which is a ground for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 - would stand established when a husband neglects his marital duties."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 Court said..The couple before the Court had married in 2016. However, the marriage eventually became strained. The wife claimed that this was because of the husband's extreme religious practices. She added that he was not interested in having sexual relations or children. She said that once the husband returned from work, he was only interested in visiting temples and ashrams. She was also forced to follow suit, she claimed. The wife further said that he had prevented her from pursuing postgraduate studies..The woman first filed for divorce in 2019 but she withdrew this plea after her husband promised her that he would change his behaviour. However, the wife was forced to file for divorce again in 2022 since her husband's behaviour remained unchanged. The family court granted her a divorce..This led the husband to file an appeal before the High Court, claiming that his spiritual practices were misunderstood. He also denied neglecting any of his marital duties or blocking his wife's education. He added that it was the wife who was adamant that she did not want to have children before completing her postgraduate studies. .The Court eventually concluded that the marriage had irretrievably broken down due to the husband's persistent neglect and emotional abuse. "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," the judgment said. It, therefore, 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 appeared for the husband..[Read Judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.