Wife Forcing Husband to Live in Separate Room Amounts to Cruelty: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has ruled that forcing a husband to live in a separate room and denying him conjugal rights amounts to mental and physical cruelty.
A Division Bench of Justice Ranjan Roy and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi made this observation while granting divorce to a man whose wife allegedly forced him to stay in a separate room and threatened to file criminal cases or commit suicide if he entered her room.
The Court held that the wife had effectively abandoned the matrimonial relationship by refusing to cohabit with her husband.
“Cohabitation is an essential part of marriage. If the wife forces the husband to live separately, depriving him of his conjugal rights, it affects his mental and physical health. Such conduct amounts to cruelty,” the Court observed.
Background of the Case
- The couple married in 2016. It was the woman’s first marriage and the man’s second.
- The husband claimed that the relationship was normal for only 4–5 months, after which the wife began harassing him.
- In 2018, he filed for divorce, stating that his wife had deserted him since April 2017.
- The wife initially appeared before the family court but later stopped attending hearings, and the case proceeded ex-parte.
Family Court’s Decision
In January 2023, the family court rejected the husband’s plea, reasoning that he had not provided enough details about the alleged threats. It also dismissed the testimony of the husband’s father, assuming he would naturally support his son.
High Court’s Findings
The High Court disagreed with the family court, stating that:
- Family members are often the most natural witnesses in matrimonial disputes and their testimony cannot be ignored.
- The wife did not file a written statement to counter the allegations, which implied acceptance of the husband’s claims.
- The husband’s previous marriage had ended in mutual consent divorce without any allegations against him, so the family court was wrong in assuming otherwise.
The Court concluded that the wife’s conduct clearly amounted to cruelty and granted the divorce in favour of the husband.
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