Need legal advice regarding my relative's marriage, husband came out as gay and is now having relationships with other men
Hi,
I’m posting on behalf of a female relative and would really appreciate some guidance from people familiar with Indian matrimonial law, particularly Haryana.
She is from Bhiwani, Haryana, and her husband is from Rajasthan. They had a proper traditional marriage ceremony and subsequently lived together as husband and wife for around 2 years. There are no children.
The marriage was never formally registered, so they don't have a marriage certificate or other official marriage documents. However, there are wedding photos/videos, witnesses, and other evidence of the marriage.
After marriage, she came to understand that her husband is attracted to men. She initially tried very hard to save the marriage and help him work through the situation. Things have now become extremely bad. He has started having romantic/sexual relationships with other men.
There have also been some disturbing statements. At one point, he told her something along the lines of: “If we can't have a child, I'll bring my friend and let him give you a child.”
She has also obtained some screenshots showing his relationships with men. However, I want to be transparent that some of these were obtained through a spy/tracking application installed on his device, so we don't know whether they can legally be used as evidence. We will disclose exactly how they were obtained to any lawyer and won't try to obtain further evidence illegally.
She wants to get out of this marriage and is considering divorce/possibly annulment, but we don't know what the appropriate legal route is.
Questions:
Does the lack of a marriage certificate/registration create a problem if they had a proper Hindu wedding and lived together as husband and wife for 2 years?
Would his relationships/sexual activity with other men potentially constitute a ground for divorce?
Could concealment of his sexual orientation before marriage be relevant to annulment or divorce?
Would the statement about bringing another man to have a child be relevant to a cruelty claim?
Can she pursue the case from Bhiwani, or would she have to file somewhere in Rajasthan?
How should she deal with the screenshots obtained through the spy application?
Approximately how much should we expect to pay a competent matrimonial lawyer in Bhiwani/Haryana?
We're not looking to attack or expose the husband because of his sexual orientation. We simply want to understand her legal options and how she can safely end the marriage.
Any advice from Indian lawyers or people who have dealt with similar matrimonial situations would be greatly appreciated.