New Delhi, March 20 -- The Madras High Court on Wednesday rejected a man's plea seeking divorce from his wife on the ground that she watched pornography and often masturbated. The court emphasised the woman's sexual autonomy and that the fundamental right to privacy includes spousal privacy.

The court said that watching pornography in a private setting was not an offence and that if a spouse did not breach any statutory laws in watching pornography and if such habit did not have an adverse impact on the discharge of one's conjugal obligations, such acts cannot be amount to cruelty and therefore, cannot be a ground for divorce.

A resident of Karur district in Tamil Nadu had petitioned the Madras High Court after a family court had refuse...