NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has held that a false allegation of impotence against the husband even if those were made as counter-allegations, amounts to cruelty by the wife under the Hindu Marriage Act. A bench of Justices Manmohan and Sanjeev Narula passed the judgement while hearing an appeal by a wife against an order of the Family Court allowing the husband’s petition for grant of divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA).
Before the family court, the wife had pleaded that the husband was suffering from impotence/erectile dysfunction due to which the marriage had remained non-consummated. But before the High Court, the wife sought setting aside the divorce order which was passed arbitrarily and that she wanted to save the matrimonial alliance.
On the other hand, the husband contended that the false allegations made against him in the written submissions amounted to cruelty and no self-respecting person would continue in a matrimonial alliance with such a partner.
The HC noted that the allegation of the Appellant-wife was rejected by the Family Court based on the testimony of an expert witness who upon physical examination found the husband to be a normal male adult with no problem of impotence.
“(Mental cruelty) is primarily contextual, pertaining to human behaviour or conduct with respect to matrimonial duties and obligations. It is, therefore, essential to see whether the conduct of the party is of such a nature, that a reasonable person would neither tolerate the same nor be reasonably expected to live with the other party,” the High Court held.
“The averments made by a party in its pleadings before a Court of law have to be given due sanctity and have to be treated with seriousness. These allegations made in the pleadings are brought in the public domain and the Court is expected to give its verdict based on the allegations and the counter-allegations made by the parties. No party can be excused of recklessness in allegations made before the Court of law,” the bench ruled.