In a landmark judgment, the Bombay High Court has annulled the marriage of a young couple, unable to consummate their union due to the husband’s “relative impotency.” The ruling, delivered by a division bench consisting of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and S G Chapalgaonkar, underscores the couple's significant mental, emotional, and physical disconnect.
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The case came to the Aurangabad bench of the high court following an appeal by a 27-year-old man whose marriage was at the center of contention. The appeal was prompted by a family court's decision in February 2024, which had denied an early annulment application filed by his 26-year-old wife. The family court's refusal was based on assumptions of potential collusion between the parties.
The concept of “relative impotency,” as explained by the High Court, refers to a condition where an individual is capable of sexual relations but cannot perform such acts with their spouse. This condition, the court noted, can stem from various physical and mental causes.
The couple, who were married in March 2023, separated just 17 days later, with the wife alleging that the husband declined to consummate the marriage. Initially, the man blamed his wife for the lack of physical intimacy. However, he later admitted to his relative impotency, which he claimed was specific to his wife and should not infer a general state of impotence.
Justice Kankanwadi and Justice Chapalgaonkar emphasized the need to address the "agony of frustration" faced by the couple, stating that such cases highlight the distress of "young sufferers of marriage" who fail to establish a comprehensive connection.
The High Court criticized the family court’s previous ruling, which rejected the wife’s plea for an immediate decision on annulment without a full trial. The high court's decision to annul the marriage, therefore, marks a significant step towards acknowledging the complexities of personal relationships and the specific challenges posed by relative impotency.
The ruling is expected to set a precedent for how similar cases are handled in the future, potentially offering relief to others in similar situations without subjecting them to prolonged legal proceedings and the associated social stigma.