No husband would tolerate wife having vulgar chats with male friends: Madhya Pradesh HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that a man or woman cannot engage in 'vulgar' conversations with their friends after marriage.

According to media reports, the HC made the remarks dismissing a woman's petition challenging a lower court verdict allowing her a divorce and emphasised that no husband would tolerate such behaviour.

A family court had granted the woman divorce against the man on the grounds of cruelty, but the High Court bench comprising Justices Vivek Rusia and Gajendra Singh upheld the verdict.

The husband had alleged that his wife was discussing their sex life with her male friends. The couple got married in 2018.

According to reports, the High Court said, "No husband would tolerate that his wife is in conversation through a mobile by way of these type of vulgar chat."

"After marriage, husband and wife both have the freedom to have a conversation by way of mobile, chatting and other means with friends, but the level of conversation should be decent and dignified, especially when it is with an opposite gender, which may not be objectionable to the life partner," it added.

The court said that if a spouse continues to do such things even after their partner's objections, it will undoubtedly amount to mental cruelty.

According to reports, the court noted that marital relationships are built on trust and mutual respect, and such actions can severely impact a partner’s emotional well-being.

The bench ruled that after marriage, individuals are expected to maintain a level of decorum in their personal interactions. The court said that while friendships are not prohibited, engaging in inappropriate discussions with friends can disrupt marital harmony and create grounds for divorce.

The husband in his complaint said that his wife used to talk to 'her old lovers on her mobile' after marriage and that her WhatsApp conversations were vulgar in nature.

However, the woman dismissed her husband's claims and alleged that she had no such relationships and that her husband had hacked her mobile, sent such messages to two men to fabricate evidence against her.

She claimed that her husband's actions had violated her right to privacy and also pressed allegations against him that he had demanded dowry of Rs 25 lakh.

The High Court had found merit in the husband's allegations and the woman's father too testified that his daughter used to talk to her male friends, thus, upholding the divorce granted by the lower court.