T.Sareetha vs T.Venkata Subbaiah (AIR 1983 AP 356)
The Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh High Court
In the case of T. Sareetha v. T. Venkata Subbaiah, the High Court declared Section 9 of the HMA, 1955 as unconstitutional for being violative of the right to privacy and human dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Justice P.A. Choudhary observed that Section 9 is the grossest form of violation of the right to privacy. Forcing a spouse to have sexual relations with her spouse deprives her of the right to control her own body. The state cannot coerce a spouse to prolong the voluntary union of her with her spouse in their relationship. The state by coercion can neither soften the ruffled feelings between a couple nor can it clear the misunderstanding between them. The judge even observed that Section 9 is not promoting any public purpose, rather it is violative of right to equality under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution as well.
Harvinder Kaur vs Harmendar Singh Choudhary (AIR 1984 Delhi 66, ILR 1984 Delhi 546, 1984 RLR 187)
The Hon’ble Delhi High Court
The ruling in T Sareetha was rescinded by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court observing that when the wife deliberately broke up the matrimonial home and brought to an end the matrimonial life, so far as she was able to bring those results about. The breaker-up of the home is the wife. She has disrupted the matrimonial home without sufficient cause. There is withdrawal not only from intercourse but from cohabitation without just cause.
Saroj Rani vs Sudarshan Kumar Chadha (1984 AIR 1562, 1985 SCR (1) 303)
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India
In the case of Saroj Rani v. Sudarshan Kumar Chadha, the Hon’ble Apex Court had held that the purpose of Section 9 is to bring an estranged couple back together so that they can live together in a matrimonial house in amity. On the point of forcing a spouse to have sexual intercourse with her spouse, Justice Mukherjee added that the aim of the impugned Section is ‘consortium’ and not sexual intercourse. The purpose behind granting a decree under this Section is to cohabitate the couple in the same household with love, care and affection and it in no sense compels the parties to have sexual intercourse.