Wife Can Call Husband Impotent, Rules Bombay High Court in Major Observation

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): In an important judgment, the Bombay High Court has clarified that if a wife calls her husband 'impotent' to prove her allegations during a marital dispute, it will not be considered an offence of defamation. The court said that the wife has this right under the law and it is protected under the ninth exception to Section 499 (Defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A bench of Justice SM Modak gave this verdict while dismissing a defamation complaint filed by a husband against his wife.

This case is related to the ongoing divorce and maintenance dispute between a husband and wife. The husband had filed a defamation complaint against his wife, father-in-law and brother-in-law. He alleged that the wife made false and derogatory allegations about his sexual incapacity (impotence) in the divorce, maintenance petition and an FIR, which damaged his reputation.

In April 2023, the metropolitan magistrate dismissed the husband's complaint, saying that the allegations were part of the matrimonial process. But later, in April 2024, the sessions court overturned this decision and ordered further investigation into the case.

The wife filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against this decision of the Sessions Court. The wife argued that these allegations were made in judicial proceedings and were relevant to prove mental harassment and neglect, so they are protected under the law.

The High Court accepted the arguments of the wife and set aside the order of the sessions court and upheld the decision of the magistrate. Justice Modak said, when a case is related to a marital dispute between husband and wife, the wife has the right to make such allegations in her favour. The court also said that when a wife wants to prove mental harassment under the Hindu Marriage Act, then allegations like impotence are considered relevant and necessary.