Hyderabad: Citing insufficient evidence to prove the alleged erectile dysfunction of a 33-year-old man, the Telangana high court refused to grant divorce to his 38-year-old wife.The woman, a software professional, had alleged that her husband, a govt employee, was sexually impotent and had concealed his medical condition prior to their marriage. She sought a divorce and permanent alimony of Rs 90 lakh. Her initial petition before the family court in Hyderabad was dismissed, prompting her to move the high court in appeal. In her plea, she claimed that their marriage remained unconsummated, both during their honeymoon and while living together in the United States for a couple of years. She cited medical issues, including erectile dysfunction and failed surgeries, as grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, along with cruelty. The husband, in his defence, produced medical records and testimonies to assert his potency. He maintained that the couple had a consensual sexual relationship both before and after marriage. A govt hospital potency test conducted in 2021 also stated that there was “nothing to suggest” he was incapable of sexual intercourse. A division bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and BR Madhusudhan Rao upheld the family court’s decision, ruling that the woman had failed to establish that her husband’s alleged condition had rendered the marriage unconsummated. The court also questioned her silence between their marriage in 2013 and the divorce petition filed in 2018. It pointed to inconsistencies in her claims, including her continued cohabitation with her husband from 2015 to 2018 and the absence of corroborative expert evidence. The judges emphasised that unsubstantiated allegations, without medical or factual backing, were not sufficient to annul a marriage. Additionally, the court declined her request to introduce documents related to pending financial disputes involving her husband in the US, calling them irrelevant to the case.
