16 years after separation, husband gets divorce over wife’s adultery but has to pay Rs 7 lakh in alimony: Madras HC order

The Madras High Court, in a recent judgement, ruled that a Hindu husband can seek a divorce on the ground of adultery under Section 13(1)(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice M.D. Sumathi of the Madras High Court, in their judgement dated August 19, 2026, criticised the trial court for its judgement that a husband has a duty to fulfil his wife’s desires and should therefore take her along with him in whichever city he works in.

The justices of the high court opined that it may not always be feasible for a husband to take the wife along. The justices said, “Suppose the husband is a soldier; it is not possible to set up a marital home in the army barracks.”

What happened in this case?

This judgement came in a case involving a couple who married as per the Hindu rituals and customs on September 10, 1992, at Thevarambur, Tamil Nadu. During the course of their marriage, four children were born.

Due to work obligations, the husband subsequently moved to Mumbai, where he was employed, leaving his wife at home in Tamil Nadu. During his absence, the wife entered into a relationship with a man named Manoharan.

When he returned from Mumbai to his hometown, he learned about his wife’s affair. After that, he decided to file a divorce case in court on the grounds of adultery.

However, the trial court, in an order dated January 28, 2025, rejected his divorce plea because he mistakenly failed to include Manoharan as a party to the case.

The trial judge opined that he was taking advantage of his own wrongdoing.

The trial judge said: “Legally speaking, the husband is bound to maintain his wife. It is highly impracticable for anyone to overcome the impulse of sexual desire. Therefore, it remains the solemn duty of every husband that wherever he goes, he shall take his wife with him, and he shall not be a cause for adultery or for any rumor for adultery. Therefore, this Court is of the view that if the husband is living jointly with the wife, satisfying her sexual desire, then he can raise the plea of adultery or cruelty, as the case may be. But when the husband fails to take the wife with him for any reason whatsoever, he shall not be entitled to even plead adultery, as he is one of the perpetrators of the crime and hence, can’t be allowed to take advantage of his own wrong.”

Also read: Husband breaks wife’s phone, produces adultery photos; gets photographer who developed photo to be a witness; MP HC grants divorce

Why the husband won divorce and had to pay the alimony?

Advocate Amitraj Kaushal practicing in Supreme Court of India, said to ET Wealth Online that the couple was living apart for sixteen years, no contact not even a letter from the wife trying to patch things up. That is really what tipped this one. The court relied on a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that says a marriage this dead, no cohabitation, no bond left, amounts to cruelty in itself.

Kaushal says that what struck him the most, was how the trial court had ruled earlier! and the trial court had denied the divorce on the reasoning that since the husband moved to Mumbai for work without his wife, he had basically forfeited any right to even raise adultery as an issue.

Kaushal says: "The Madras High Court was not having it, and rightly so, you cannot expect every husband to drag his wife along wherever a job takes him. As for the alimony, that is a completely separate legal track."

According to Kaushal, under Section 25, courts can order alimony no matter who wins the divorce, the point is not to punish anyone, it is to make sure the weaker spouse is not left with nothing once the marriage is over. So the Rs 7 lakh was not tied to fault, it was just the court making sure the wife had some financial footing, and they made it a condition before the divorce could even take effect.

Also read: Divorce case: Wife’s WhatsApp chats can be valid evidence about her extramarital affair, even when obtained without her consent, rules Madhya Pradesh High Court

Why did Madras High Court reject the trial court’s judgement?

When the Madras High Court read what the trial court judge wrote, the high court asked: “What was the wrong committed by the appellant (husband)? The appellant had left Sivagangai (his hometown) seeking employment elsewhere. He was working in Mumbai. To the trial judge, this constituted a fundamental breach of marital obligation.”

The Madras High Court said that radical feminists may applaud the revolutionary approach of the trial court, but the Madras High Court said that they cannot accept the trial court’s judgement. “We say with regret that we cannot give our imprimatur,” said the Madras High Court.

Madras High Court grants divorce on adultery ground but with Rs 7 lakh alimony

The Madras High Court observed that it is been 16 years since the couple are separately living and now he is 67 years old. Moreover, the court did not see any indication from her which hints that she might want to get back to him.

Thus the high court said that they are satisfied that this marriage has completely broken down beyond repair. So applying the Supreme Court precedent set in the judgement 2023 SCC OnLine SC 497 (Shri Rakesh Raman Vs. Kavitha) the high court granted divorce.

The Madras High Court said that in the given case where the marital relationship has broken down irretrievably, and where there is a long separation and absence of cohabitation between the parties; then continuation of such a ‘marriage’ would only mean giving sanction to cruelty which each is inflicting on the other.

The Madras High Court said: “We are satisfied that there is so much of bad blood that there is simply no possibility of reunion. We had an interaction with the parties to arrive at an amicable settlement. Our efforts ended in vain. It would be more appropriate and fit to snap the marital tie.”

On this ground, the Madras High Court disolved the Hindu marriage and granted him divorce.

Regarding alimony, the Madras High Court said that as per Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act and taking into account the overall facts and circumstances, they direct him to pay a sum of Rs 7 Lakh.

The Madras High Court said: “This decree of divorce will come into force only on deposit of the said amount to the credit of H.M.O.P.No.6 of 2014 on the file of the Family Court, Sivagangai. It can be withdrawn by the respondent (wife) thereafter.”