Compelling Couple To Live Together After 30 Yrs Of Separation Amounts To Mental Cruelty: Punjab & Haryana High

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that compelling a couple to live together after 30 years of separation would amount to mental cruelty.

Granting a divorce decree, the court observed that the long separation itself had irreparably broken the matrimonial bond, making restitution of conjugal rights impossible.

The bench stated that forcing cohabitation after such an extensive period would only cause further trauma and anguish, not reconcile the marriage. The court dissolved the marriage, citing the lengthy separation as evidence of an irretrievable breakdown.

While disposing of the plea, the Court granted liberty to "respondent-wife to move an appropriate application before the learned Family Court, for permanent alimony."