# Allahabad HC: Calling wife ‘barren’ not cruelty under 498A 2026-08-14T09:22:13+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a husband calling his wife a 'barren woman' during a matrimonial quarrel does not automatically amount to cruelty under Section 498-A IPC. Justice Indrajeet Shukla quashed criminal proceedings against a man summoned for cruelty, dowry demand, and assault. The court noted the couple had no child after three years, leading to mutual verbal abuse, with the wife also calling her husband 'impotent', India Today reports. The bench said the remark, though insensitive, did not meet the legal test for cruelty under Section 498-A or intentional insult under Section 504 IPC. The court found the complaint lacked specific allegations of dowry demand and that the physical assault claim was unsupported by medical evidence. It stressed that Section 498-A is not meant to criminalise every marital disagreement. The order quashed proceedings against the husband but does not set a blanket rule that derogatory language can never be cruelty. ## Coverage - livelaw.in - indiatoday.in Tags: Allahabad High Court, dowry law, marital dispute, matrimonial cruelty, Section 498-A IPC Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/allahabad-hc-calling-wife-barren-in-quarrel-not-cruelty-under-498-a/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/allahabad-hc-calling-wife-barren-in-quarrel-not-cruelty-under-498-a/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.