Consider Punishment For Those Hiding Impotence

Before Marriage: Madras High Court

File photo of Madras High Court.
CHENNAI: Can't medical tests for impotence and frigidity be made mandatory
before wedding? What's the punishment for impotent or frigid people who suppress
the fact before marriage? And what's the remedy for the aggrieved parties? These
were some of the questions of the Madras High Court, to which the Central and the
Tamil Nadu governments should have a reply on September 5.
The court has also directed both governments to provide statistics on impotence
and frigidity cases.
It began with a 25-year-old woman seeking divorce under the Domestic Violence
Act at the Family Court in Trichy a year after marriage, claiming her 32-year-old husband was impotent.
The husband moved High Court to quash her petition, claiming that she could not file it without medical evidence.
"The couple is well-educated. Though the issue is between the two individuals, Justice K Kirupakaran added the state
and the central governments suo motu," Mr P Muthu Vijaya Pandian, counsel for the man, told NDTV.
The woman's lawyer was not reachable.
The number of marriages that failed due to impotence had increased from 88 in 2009 to 715 in 2013, the court said,
quoting data from the Chennai family court. Taking note of the social factor, the judge said such marriages are
conducted "to avoid social stigma or at the compulsion of the elders," suppressing the weakness or disability of one of
the partners, reported PTI.
Story Fi rst Publ i shed: August 28, 2014 22:04 IST
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All India | Written by J Sam Daniel Stalin (With PTI inputs) | Updated: August 28, 2014 23:46 IST