21 April,2024 11:47 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Bombay High Court/ File Photo
The Bombay High Court's Aurangabad bench has ordered the annulment of a young couple's marriage, citing the husband's "relative impotency" as the cause for their failure to consummate the relationship. Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and S G Chapalgaonkar handed the decision on April 15, emphasising the couple's grief and despair.
The dispute occurred when a 27-year-old man appealed to the High Court after his 26-year-old wife filed for annulment in February 2024, which was denied by the family court. The court defined "relative impotency" as a situation in which a person is capable of intercourse but is unable to do it with their spouse for a variety of medical or mental reasons, reported PTI.
According to the report, in this case, the husband admitted to his relative impotence towards his wife, recognising that their marriage had not been consummated. He initially blamed his wife for the problem but eventually admitted to his ailment to prevent long-term shame.
"In the present case, it can be easily gathered that the husband has relative impotence qua (towards) the wife. The reason for non-consummation of the marriage is this apparent relative impotency of the husband," the HC said, per the news agency report.
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"However, subsequently, he candidly admitted the same, being satisfied with the fact that it would not put a lifelong stigma on him. The relative impotency is somewhat different than the general notion of impotency and the acceptance of relative impotency would not brand him impotent in general parlance," the HC said.
The pair, who married in March 2023, split up after 17 days, citing a lack of sexual intimacy and emotional connection, the report added.
Per the news agency report, the wife had requested annulment showed their incapacity to connect cognitively, emotionally, or physically, whilst the husband initially blamed her before confessing his condition and had filed a petition following the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code instead of conducting a trial.
Reportedly, the family court had however rejected the application and claimed the couple had raised collusive claims. The Bombay HC bench quashed the family court order and annulled the marriage.
