Court Justifies Divorce From HIV+ Person

New Delhi: A person whose spouse is found to be HIV positive is justified in seeking a divorce, said a local court while taking note of marriage as anathema without sex.

Additional district Judge Rajnish Bhatnagar, who delivered the judgment, said that a person cannot live “merrily” with a spouse who has AIDS or is HIV positive.  

The court granted divorce to a man whose wife is HIV positive, saying her ailment had prevented him from leading a “happy married life” as the disease is sexually transmissible.

Court said, “The HIV status of the wife no doubt resulted in non-enjoyment of sexual intercourse between the parties and marriage without sex is anathema.”

Married in October 2000, the couple from Kerala had moved to Delhi, and five months after the wife was found to be HIV positive her pregnancy. The tests showed the husband hadn’t contracted the virus.

AIDS activists express the negative impact the judgment would have on society’s perceptions of HIV positive people.

“This is a conflict between the rights of an HIVpositive person and a healthy person. I the court has given precedence to the rights of the healthy person,” said Dushyant Meher, AIDS programme coordinator of Salaam Balak Trust.

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