No Intimacy, No Marriage? Supreme Court Says, Denial Of Conjugal Rights Amounts To Mental Cruelty, Grounds For Divorce

The Supreme Court has ruled that persistent denial of conjugal rights, including refusal to engage in sexual relations without a reasonable explanation, amounts to mental cruelty and can be a valid ground for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The judgment came while deciding a long-running matrimonial dispute between two doctors who had remained married for more than 18 years but spent only a few months living together. Upholding a Rajasthan High Court order that granted divorce to the husband, the court said the continued denial of conjugal rights had damaged the very foundation of the marriage and contributed to an irretrievable breakdown of the relationship.

According to reports, the ruling was delivered on June 2, 2026, by a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih. The case reached the apex court after the wife, a gynaecologist, challenged a January 2, 2025 Rajasthan High Court judgment that had overturned a family court order rejecting her husband’s divorce plea. The husband, also a doctor, had sought divorce on the ground of cruelty, citing prolonged denial of conjugal rights and the complete collapse of marital life.

Court says marriage cannot survive when duties are abandoned for years

Explaining its reasoning, the bench stressed that marriage is far more than a legal arrangement between two individuals. “Marriage, in its legal and constitutional dimension, can never be reduced to a mere contractual intersection of individual rights. It is a deeply personal and social partnership built on mutual respect, shared expectations and equal responsibility,” the court said, as per reports. 

The judges further observed that rights and responsibilities within marriage go hand in hand. “To demand the fulfilment of the former while wilfully abandoning the sanctity of the latter is to undermine the very essence of the institution,” the bench added. Referring to earlier judicial decisions, the court noted that denial of conjugal rights has repeatedly been recognised by Indian courts as a form of mental cruelty because it causes deep emotional suffering and weakens the marital bond.

Long separation and lack of intimacy weighed heavily in verdict

As per reports, the couple married on December 5, 2007, according to Hindu customs. At the time, the wife was posted at a government hospital in Gujarat while the husband was serving in Rajasthan. During their entire marriage, they lived together for only two to three months and have remained separated for more than 15 years. No children were born from the marriage.

The husband told the court that even during the short period they lived together, his wife would retire early, lock her room from inside and refuse to open the door despite his repeated knocking. Notably, the wife did not dispute the claim that they occupied separate rooms. The bench held that such conduct supported the allegation of denial of conjugal rights and amounted to cruelty. “The acceptance of the ground of cruelty for grant of divorce is, thus, correct,” the court said.

Reconciliation efforts failed as spouses remained divided on married life

The judges also observed that repeated attempts at reconciliation had failed because both parties held firm and irreconcilable views about married life. According to the court, prolonged separation without any realistic chance of reunion causes cruelty to both spouses. It further noted that the marriage had effectively collapsed, with both individuals abandoning the relationship through their conduct.

Supreme Court invokes Article 142 to end what it called a dead marriage

“The parties have objectively deserted the matrimonial framework itself. The intentional maintenance of distinct lifestyles, separate domiciles, and the total cessation of marital interaction over fifteen years establishes a de facto abandonment of the marital covenant,” the bench said, according to reports. Using its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court dissolved the marriage, stating that extending such a “dead relationship” would only lead to more mental agony and frustration. The court added that keeping a “stale and frozen” marriage alive deprives both individuals of the opportunity to lead a free, meaningful and fulfilling life.

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