HIV/Aids grounds for divorce says Indian judge

A court in Dehli, India has ruled that a partner being HIV positive is grounds for divorce.

Additional district judge Rajnish Bhatnagar said that a man from Kerula was entitled to a divorce from his HIV positive wife because her disease meant that they were prevented from leading a "happy married life".

The couple wed in October 2000 but five months later the wife discovered that she had the illness. Further tests showed that her husband had not contracted it.

However, the court ruled that as they could not longer enjoy sex their marriage was no longer a happy one and thus he was entitled to a divorce, the Agence-France Presse reports.

"The HIV status of the wife no doubt resulted in non-enjoyment of sexual intercourse between the parties and marriage without sex is anathema [cursed]," the court said.

The decision has angered HIV/Aids activists who feel that it could lead to people the opinion that those with the disease cannot live a normal happy life.

Dushyant Meher, Aids programme coordinator of the Salaam Balak Trust, said: "This is a conflict between the rights of an HIV positive person and a healthy person. In this case, the court has given precedence to the rights of the healthy person."

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