The Delhi High Court in its judgment dated December 20, 2023 observed that a wife raising constant allegations about ‘manhood‘ of her husband can be construed as ‘mental cruelty’.
A Division Bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said that nature of such allegations where the man is pressurised to undergo impotency test can be very depressing and mentally traumatic for the husband.
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Case:
Parties got married in February 2000 and a son was born to them in April 2004.
The marriage was not a smooth one from the beginning where both parties made several allegations against the other. After the birth of their child, the appellant wife refused to have any physical relationship with the respondent husband. The couple mutually agreed that though respondent would continue to provide her with all her requirements, they shall have no physical relationship.
In 2006, the husband filed a petition for divorce under 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and multiple litigations were ongoing between the couple since 17-years.
Family Court, Delhi
The Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Tis Hazari, Delhi granted divorce to the husband in August 2016 on grounds of cruelty. This order was challenged by the wife in High Court.
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Allegations by Husband
Fake Degree: According to the husband, prior to the marriage, his wife had falsely claimed to be an MBA, whereas when he checked all her educational documents, he did not come across any such certificate. The wife did admit that she was not an MBA graduate but was advised to claim so in her matrimonial home.
Impotency: The husband also alleged that the wife constantly accused him of impotency and simultaneously accused him of forcing her for an abortion. He said that he was also forced to undergo Doppler’s Impotency Test in which he was found to be fit.
Womaniser: The wife would also constantly label him as a womaniser and a flirt would fall for any woman, whether 16 years or 60 years, just because they could speak English.
Dowry Demands: The husband accused his wife of bad mouthing him from the beginning and also telling people that her mother-in-law beat her, her husband had extramarital affairs and his family had taken dowry.
The husband also alleged that his wife was creating trouble and harassment for him at the behest of her father.
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Defense by Wife
Dowry: The wife informed Court that dowry was demanded on multiple occasions after marriage and that her family had already spent Rs 30 lakh on the wedding.
MBA Degree: With regards to her MBA degree, she said that she had spoken about ‘pursuing the course’ prior to the marriage and never claimed having a degree.
Impotency: While she also denied allegations of not allowing her husband to sleep in the same room, she fanned ignorance regarding the Doppler’s test being done. The wife told Court that the husband had visited the doctor to address his problem of not being able to perform sexually when under the influence of intoxication, irritation and frustration.
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Delhi High Court
A Division Bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna went through submissions on record and came to a conclusion that forcing one’s husband to go through impotency test coupled with allegations of dowry demands, extramarital affair and calling him a womaniser is sufficient to create mental agony and trauma. The bench observed:
The admissions of the appellant (wife) establish that the respondent was made to undergo the impotency test in which he was found to be fit. Clearly, such averments and allegations about the manhood of a person would not only be depressive but also mentally traumatic for any person to accept.
The High Court also remarked that making defamatory, humiliating and unsubstantiated allegations which have the impact of publicly tarnishing the image of the spouse is an act of extreme extreme cruelty. The Court thus said,
Unfortunately, here is a case where the husband himself is being publicly harassed, humiliated and verbally-attacked by his wife, who had gone to the extent of levelling allegations of infidelity during his office meetings in front of all his office staff/guests.
She even took to harassing the woman workers of his office and left no stone unturned to portray him as a womanizer in the office. This behaviour is but an act of extreme cruelty to the respondent/husband.
With respect to the dowry demands, the Court infact noted that it was the husband who had always provided everything for the wife and child and that there were no such demands made by him.
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The High Court further added,
To compound all her acts, she used the child as a weapon and has totally alienated him from the respondent.
All these acts which happened in a span of about six years that they spent together, proved that the respondent was subjected to cruelty and harassment which is sufficient to create mental agony and trauma in his mind to the extent that he at times even thought of committing suicide.
The acts of the appellant, as proved, can only be termed as acts of cruelty towards the respondent.
Upholding the Family Court order, the High Court thus granted divorce to the husband on grounds of cruelty by wife.
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Alimony
The appellant wife had filed an application under section 24 and 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), seeking Rs 2 lakh per month as maintenance and Rs 2 lakh on account of expenses of the proceedings.
An amount of Rs 25,000 per month as maintenance for the estranged wife and an additional amount of Rs 10,000 for the upbringing of the minor child as well as an amount of Rs 50,000 litigation expenses had already been awarded when the matrimonial proceedings were initiated in the year 2006.
However, despite cruelty by wife been proven, the High Court kept this open allowing the wife to re-approach Family Court for enhancement of maintenance or permanent alimony. The bench stated:
The appellant is at liberty to approach the appropriate court/forum to pursue the application seeking enhancement of maintenance or permanent alimony before the Family Court, in accordance with law.
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