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Allahabad High Court on Thursday, while granting divorce to a couple observed that "denying" sexual intercourse to the spouse for a long time amounts to "mental cruelty" and can become a basis of divorce.
This order was given by the division bench of Justice Sunit Kumar and Justice Rajendra Kumar while hearing the appeal of petitioner Ravindra Pratap Yadav. He had challenged the appeal of the family court which had rejected the petitioner's application for divorce. As per the petition, Ravindra was married to Asha Devi since 1979. But, after some time the wife's behaviour "changed" and she started staying away from her husband. Despite staying under the same roof, they never had sexual intercourse. After some time, the wife went to her maternal house and refused to come back despite her husband's request, the petition stated. The two reached a divorce agreement at a Panchayat meeting in 1994 after the husband gave Rs 22,000 as alimony to his wife. The wife also had a second marriage. However, when the husband applied for divorce in court, the wife didn't appear. After this, the divorce petition was rejected by the court. The Allahabad High Court while hearing the matter said, "The husband and wife were separated for a long period after the marriage. The wife never respected the institution of marriage and she refused to discharge her responsibilities. This proves that there is a breakdown of marriage". (ANI)
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