An Indian court has ruled that wives watching pornography is not grounds for divorce, adding that women retain the right to masturbate and do not surrender their sexual autonomy once they marry.

Conversations around female sexuality are considered taboo in India, especially with married women who are expected to prioritise their husbands and children over themselves.

Wednesday's ruling in the southern state of Tamil Nadu came after a man appealed the decision of a lower court that refused to grant him a divorce.

His case rested on several acts of alleged cruelty by his spouse, including what he claimed was her addiction to masturbating while watching pornography.

In dismissing the appeal, the Madras High Court ruled that "self pleasure is not forbidden fruit".

"When masturbation among men is acknowledged to be universal, masturbation by women cannot be stigmatised," the court said in its ruling, a copy of which AFP has seen.

The court added that a woman "retains her individuality" even after getting married and that her "fundamental identity as an individual, as a woman, is not subsumed by her spousal status".

The court argued that addiction to pornography was "bad" and could not be "morally justified" but was not legal grounds for divorce.

Divorce remains taboo across much of India with only one in every 100 marriages ending in dissolution, often owing to family and social pressure to sustain unhappy marriages.

Chronic backlogs in India's criminal justice system mean some divorce petitions take years to reach a resolution.