The Supreme Court on March 11, issued notice in a petition filed by a husband against his wife for allegedly cheating and concealing the fact that she was physiologically not a female at the time of marriage.
The husband contended that his wife is not a female due to presence of a Penis and an Imperforate Hymen, and the concealment of this fact from him amounts to the offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the petitioner-husband, his wife was diagnosed with “Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia”. However the same was concealed from him, which amounts to cheating by his wife and her father, he argued.

According to the husband, he got married to the respondent wife in July 2016 and after solemnisation of marriage, she did not consummate marriage for few days and thereafter left the matrimonial house.

When he tried to consummate marriage, he found that there was no presence of vaginal opening. Post this discovery, he took her for medical check-up where it was diagnosed that she has a medical problem called ‘Imperforate hymen’ (A medical condition in which hymen covers the whole opening of the vagina).

According to the petitioner, the wife left the matrimonial house, and again went for a medical check-up where it was found that she was diagnosed with ‘Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia’ (CAH) [a medical condition in which female’s clitoris is enlarged or the genitals look more like those of a male child] three years back and she was prescribed hormonal supplements.

The petitioner has also alleged that her father- in-law along with others forcibly entered his house and abused him in obscene language and threatened to kill him on account of refusal to keep his wife in the matrimonial house.

After this incident, the husband moved to the court a d filed a case.

However, the High Court had dismissed the husband’s complaint holding that, only on the basis of oral evidence and without any medical evidence, no offence under Section 420 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 was made out. The High Court had noted that there was nothing adverse in the medical report against the wife, after she was examined at a hospital in Gwalior.

A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh issued notice in the special leave petition filed against Madhya Pradesh High Court’s judgement setting aside Trial Court’s order taking cognisance for offence of cheating against the wife and her father.