Wife's love for stray dogs has caused stress, led to erectile dysfunction, man tells HC, seeks divorce

AHMEDABAD: A 41-year-old man has approached Gujarat high court seeking a divorce from his wife on grounds of cruelty, alleging she brought stray dogs into their home and arranged a prank call about an imagined extra-marital affair, causing him public humiliation.According to the man's appeal, the couple married in 2006 and his troubles began when his wife introduced a stray dog into their flat in a society that prohibited dogs as pets. She then brought in additional strays, made him cook, clean and care for them. He said one dog bit him when it insisted on sleeping in their bed.The husband said the presence of the dogs turned neighbours against them, leading to a police complaint in 2008.

He alleged that after his wife joined an animal rights group, she repeatedly filed police complaints against others, summoned him to stations to assist her, and, on his refusal, abused and humiliated him.He claimed the stress destroyed his well-being and led to erectile dysfunction. He also alleged that on April 1, 2007, his wife arranged for a radio jockey to make a prank call about his supposed affair, which embarrassed him at work and in society.

The man said he fled to Bengaluru but his wife continued to harass him.He filed a divorce suit in 2017 in an Ahmedabad family court, but she defended it by arguing that he had deserted her and introduced her to animal activism. She produced photographs of him embracing and kissing the dogs.In Feb 2024, the family court dismissed his petition, stating, "Considering the evidence, the petitioner has failed to prove that the respondent treated him with cruelty or has deserted him." Regarding the prank call, it held, "This cannot be the grounds for seeking divorce..."The husband appealed, asserting the marriage was irretrievably broken and offering to pay Rs 15 lakh in alimony, while his wife insisted on Rs 2 crore. A HC bench posted further hearing for December 1.