Denying sex to husband is ground for divorce, and educated women can't cry 'rape' after breakup, says court

The Bombay High Court has, in two different decisions, passed verdicts that will lead to many debates and interpretations in family and criminal courts across the country. First, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC ruled that if a woman denied her husband sex, it was grounds for divorce. Then, a Mumbai judge ruled that an educated woman can't claim rape after breakup with her boyfriend.

Denial of sex

In the first case, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court was only upholding the order of an Akola court to dissolve a marriage in which the wife had not only refused to cohabit with the husband, but also stayed at her paternal home for months on end and refused to do any household work.

A division bench of the Bombay HC was quoted by a Times of India report as saying, after examining all aspects of the case: "The refusal on wife's part to cohabit with husband and have a physical relationship with him has surely resulted in causing cruelty to him. There is ample evidence on record to show that he suffered mental cruelty in view of wife's refusal to do household work, cohabit with the husband, and maintain physical relationship with him."

The division bench of Justices Vasanti Naik and Vinay Deshpande held that this was ground for divorce, upholding the dissolution of the marriage.

Promise of marriage cannot be enough to claim rape

In the second case, Justice Mridula Bhatkar held that an educated girl who has consented to premarital sex must be responsible for her decision, and that promise of marriage cannot be considered inducement in every case. She also granted the accused pre-arrest bail in the case.

"Since generations, there is a moral taboo that it is the responsibility of a woman to be a virgin at the time of marriage. However, today, the young generation is exposed to different interactions with each other and is well informed about sexual activities. Society is trying to be liberated but carries baggage of different notions of morality wherein sex before marriage is a matter of censure," the judge was quoted by another Times of India report as saying.

"Under such circumstances, a woman who is in love with a boy forgets that to have sex is her option like her counterpart's but refuses to take responsibility for her decision," she added.