Calling Your Husband Impotent?

Beware! The Bombay High Court says it may amount to defamation, says advocate Vandana Shah.

- Vandana Shah

Divorce cases are usually extremely litigious and that’s why at times I compare them to a nuclear war. The accusations hurled by spouses at each other range from the absurd - ‘my wife is a bad cook and her food is inedible’ to the absolutely humiliating – ‘my husband is not good in bed’. Whilst these may be merely hurtful words exchanged between a husband and wife when they are fighting outside court, they acquire a different meaning when viewed in a legal context.

A recent judgement by the Bombay High Court has held that calling a husband impotent in legal pleadings can amount to defamation. The facts of the case are extremely interesting. Suman Ranganathan was married to Mohan and after a dispute with her husband, she left the matrimonial home i.e. the husband’s home. She went to stay with her parents at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh and also took their daughter Ramnika with her. Although Mohan tried to persuade Suman to return to the matrimonial home along with Ramnika, Suman refused and filed for divorce. So it seemed clear that Suman was not interested in reconciliation. When she filed for divorce, she also alleged in the petition that her husband was ‘impotent’. This angered the husband and he filed for defamation before the appropriate courts.