The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that wife s refusal to consummate the marriage would amount to cruelty, and would constitute a ground for divorce under Section 13 (1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage.
The Court granted a divorce decree to a man who claimed that his wife denied him physical intimacy for a long time and failed to consummate the marriage.
The Delhi High Court has ruled that the wilful denial of a sexual relationship by a spouse amounts to cruelty, upholding a divorce granted to a couple whose marriage failed due to non-consummation. The court stated that marriage without sex is an anathema and that disappointment in the sexual relationship is fatal to a marriage. The court also noted that the wife s resistance to consummation and false dowry harassment allegations constituted cruelty, and the deprivation of conjugal rights over 18 years constituted mental cruelty.