False impotency charge before kin is cruelty: Karnataka high court

BENGALURU: A woman's false allegation in front of relatives that her husband is impotent and not competent to perform matrimonial obligations amounts to mental cruelty as envisaged under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka high court has held in a recent judgement.
"Though Section 13 of the Act does not consider impotency as ground for divorce, the false allegation of impotency made by the wife would definitely cause mental disharmony and this would amount to mental cruelty within the meaning of Section 13(1)(ia) of the Act, and enables the husband to seek divorce on the ground of cruelty," a division bench comprising Justices S Sunil Dutt Yadav and KS Hemalekha observed in their order.