{
  "id": 5086171,
  "title": "‘Not Always Feasible To Take Wife Along’: Madras HC Grants Divorce After 16-Year Separation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/not-always-feasible-to-take-wife-along-madras-hc-grants-divorce-after",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T11:55:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/not-always-feasible-to-take-wife-along-madras-hc-grants-divorce-after-16-year-separation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Madras High Court has overturned a Family Court's decision not to grant a divorce, rejecting the reasoning that the husband had \"enabled\" his wife's alleged affair by not accompanying her to his workplace. A bench consisting of Justices GR Swaminathan and MD Sumathi deemed the Family Court's judgment impractical, especially in cases where a husband's job might require him to be stationed far away.\n\nThe court was considering the husband's appeal against the Family Court's denial of divorce. While the husband had accused his wife of adultery, he had failed to name the alleged lover as a necessary party, which rendered that claim ineffective. However, the High Court disagreed with the Family Court's assertion that the husband had breached his marital duties by leaving his wife in Mumbai, thereby contributing to the adulterous situation.\n\nThe Family Court had argued that an extended separation could make it challenging for a spouse to resist sexual urges and that the husband could have prevented the affair by taking his wife with him. Nonetheless, the Court noted that the couple had been separated for 16 years, with neither party making any attempt to reconcile or resume living together. The court concluded that this state of affairs constituted irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and that continuing to live together would amount to cruelty. Consequently, the court granted the divorce and ordered the husband to pay ₹7 lakh in alimony to his wife.",
  "summary": "The Madras High Court has criticised a Family Court for refusing to grant a husband divorce on the ground of adultery and observing that he had “enabled” his wife’s alleged affair by not taking her along to his place of employment. High Court rejects reasoning A bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice MD Sumathi said it could not endorse the Family Court’s reasoning, observing that it may not…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}