'Watching Pornography Not Cruelty On Husband': Madras HC Refuses Man's Plea For Divorce

The High Court ruled that self-pleasure was not a forbidden fruit and a woman retains her individuality and her fundamental identity even after marriage and is not subsumed by spousal status.

The Madras HC rules that a wife watching pornography or engaging in self-pleasure does not constitute cruelty.

Source : PTI

The Madras High Court has ruled that a wife watching pornography or engaging in self-pleasure was not cruelty upon the husband unless it has proved to affect the matrimonial relationship.

A bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice R Poornima stated that the fundamental right of privacy included spousal privacy and the contours of spousal privacy included a woman's sexual autonomy.

The Madurai bench of the HC ruled that self-pleasure was not a forbidden fruit and a woman retains her individuality and her fundamental identity even after marriage and is not subsumed by spousal status, LiveLaw reported.

"The act of the respondent (wife) in merely watching porn privately by itself may not constitute cruelty to the petitioner. It may affect the psychological health of the viewing spouse. That by itself will not amount to treating the other spouse cruelly," the court said.

"If a porn watcher compels the other spouse to join him or her, that would certainly constitute cruelty. If it is shown that on account of this addiction, there is an adverse impact on the discharge of one's conjugal obligations, then it could furnish an actionable ground,” the court added.

The court also noted that when self-pleasure among men was acknowledged universally, the same for women could not be stigmatized.

Ruling that the privacy is a fundamental right, the court saud that the right to express oneself cannot be denied.

"When privacy is a fundamental right, it includes within its scope and reach spousal privacy too. The contours of spousal privacy would include various aspects of a woman's sexual autonomy. So long as something does not fall foul of law, the right to express oneself cannot be denied. Self-pleasure is not a forbidden fruit; its indulgence shall not lead to a precipitous fall from the Eden garden of marriage. After marriage, a woman becomes a spouse but she continues to retain her individuality," the Madras High Court ruled.

The court made the remarks following a husband's plea challenging the order of the family court refusing to grant divorce.

The couple got married in July 2018 as per the Hindu rites and customs, but remained separate since December 2020.

The husband had claimed that the relationship was irretrievably broken and no useful purpose was served in keeping the relationship alive. He also contended that the wife was suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form.