Allegation on Husband’s “Manhood” is Mental Cruelty, Opines Delhi High Court

New Delhi: Allegations about a husband’s ‘manhood’ made by his wife can contribute to mental cruelty, observed the Delhi High Court.

The court termed making reckless, defamatory, humiliating and unsubstantiated allegations that publicly tarnish the spouse’s image is an act of extreme cruelty.

The division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said forcing a husband to undergo an impotency test along with allegations of dowry demands, extramarital affairs, and labelling him a womaniser is sufficient to cause mental agony and trauma.

The Delhi High Court judgment was in response to an appeal filed by a woman challenging a family court’s decision granting divorce to her husband on grounds of cruelty.

The couple, married in 2000 also has a son. But the husband applied for divorce with the allegation that his wife was torturing him through false accusations, including dowry demands, extramarital affairs and impotency.

The family court, considering the evidence, granted divorce to the man.

The judgment stressed the impact of such allegations on the mental well-being of the husband.