Voidable of marriage
radha raman karmakar
(Querist) 16 April 2012
This query is : Resolved
LOTS OF THANKS TO THE SENIORS THOSE WHO SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND GUIDE ME
i am realy shocked after getting married and came to know from her behaving that my wife having a mental disorder problem . actually the parents of wife made it cunningly and hiddenly.but got her treatment with Professor, Deptt. of Psychiarty I.P.G.M.E. & R.KOLKATA and also M.D. of Psychiatry,during treatment of the patient, written the consent of my wife, my mother in law and me too in his letter pad(Dr.prescription form) and then prescribed medicines which is applicable for mental disorder as per medical science.
Is it sufficient applicable ground for suit of nullity of marriage?
ajay sethi
(Expert) 16 April 2012
Sunday, October 02, 2011, 09:28 A husband or a wife is entitled to divorce if either spouse is found to be mentally unsound or indulges in cruelty, the Supreme Court has held.
A bench of justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan in a judgement said under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriages Act, either of the spouse can seek divorce, provided sufficient evidence is placed to justify the claim.
The apex court upheld the appeal of Pankaj Mahajan, challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's refusal to grant him divorce despite producing medical and other evidence to prove that his wife Dimple suffered from schizophrenia and subjected him to humiliation, assaults and threatened suicide.
The high court had refused to grant him divorce and quashed the decree of divorce granted to him by a matrimonial court in Ropar district.
"Without proper discussion and adequate reasons, the high court rejected the evidence of the appellant-husband as PW-4. A perusal of his evidence clearly shows the agony and treatment meted out immediately after the marriage due to mental disorder, unsound mind of the respondent-wife.
"From the materials placed on record, we are satisfied that the appellant-husband has brought cogent materials on record to show that the respondent-wife is suffering from mental disorder, i.e., schizophrenia. From the side of the appellant husband, various doctors and other witnesses were examined to prove that the respondent-wife was suffering from mental disorder," Justice Sathasivam, writing the judgement, said.
The couple got married at Amritsar on October 2, 2000. But within one-and-a-half months, Pankaj found Dimple behaving abnormally, as she used to suddenly get aggressive, hostile and suspicious in nature.
In a fit of anger, she used to threaten suicide and implicate Pankaj and his family members in a criminal case, unless she was provided a separate residence.
Even after the couple shifted to a separate home, herstrange behaviour continued and she attempted suicide by jumping from the terrace but luckily was saved by Pankaj.
She insulted and humiliated him in front of his colleagues and relatives several times and on one occasion she pushed him from the staircase that caused a fracture in his right forearm.
Later it came to light Dimple had undergone treatment for mental illness and schizophrenia prior to the marriage.
Upholding the husband's plea, the apex court said, "The acts of the respondent wife are of such quality or magnitude and consequence as to cause pain, agony and suffering to the husband which amounted to cruelty in matrimonial law."
The court further noted that the husband had conclusively established that the wife constantly threatened him with suicide, pushed him from the staircase resulting into fracture of his right forearm, slapped and assaulted him, misbehaving with the colleagues and relatives and failed to attend to household chores, all of which amounted to cruelty.
"We are satisfied that the appellant-husband had placed ample evidence on record that the respondent-wife is suffering from 'mental disorder' and due to her acts and conduct, she caused grave mental cruelty to him and it is not possible for the parties to live with each other, therefore, a decree of divorce deserves to be granted in favour of the appellant-husband," the bench said.
PTI
Shonee Kapoor
(Expert) 16 April 2012
Yes, it can be a ground for nullity.
Regards,
Shonee Kapoor
harassed.by.498a@gmail.com
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 16 April 2012
वहुत ही उम्दा प्रस्तुति किया है सेठी जी ने और मैं उनसे सहमत हूँ.
ajay sethi
(Expert) 16 April 2012
tom
its judgement date reported in media on said date
Adv.R.P.Chugh
(Expert) 16 April 2012
File a suit for nullity of marriage, be cautious :-
i) File it within one year of discovery of fraud/mental disorder;
ii) Don't condone it in the sense don't have marital relations after the same.
Delay deafeats equity.
Devajyoti Barman
(Expert) 16 April 2012
Insanity is a good ground for divorce but not for nullity.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 16 April 2012
As you have agreed to earlier while her treatment then you have no opportunity to file petition for nullity of marriage.
If no such consent was ever given and the very fact was suppressed from your family and especially you before marriage about the incurable disease of your wife then definitely you can file petition for nullity of marriage and there is full hope of its success.
Advocate M.Bhadra
(Expert) 16 April 2012
As per provision of Hindu.Marriage.Act/Spl.Marriage.Act: the voidable marriage can be annulled by the decree of nullity of the following grounds: 1) the marriage was not consummated 2)the one of the spouse was unsound mind/mental disorder 3)the marriage was performed by fraud or coercion 4)at the time of marriage the wife was pregnant.One of the above ground you can file a suit for annulment of marriage within one year from the date of marriage,failing which you can file the suit under sec.5 of the Limitation Act for condonation of delay.
suresh
(Expert) 17 April 2012
section 13 of hindu marriage act says that Divorce petition can be presented by
either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground
that the other party-
has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.
Explanation:the expression "mental disorder" means illness, arrested or incomplete development of mind psychopathic disorder or any other disorder or disability of mind and includes schizophrenia;
the expression "psychopathic disorder" means a
persistent disorder or disability of mind (whether or
not including sub-normality of intelligence) which
results in abnormally aggressive or seriously
irresponsible conduct on the part of the other party,
and whether or not it require or is susceptible to medical treatment
K.K.Ganguly
(Expert) 17 April 2012
The marriage can be annulled by a Decree if it is proved that she already had mental disorder/insanity before marriage. Try to acquire proofs in this regard.Schizophrenic attack before marriage is a very good gropund..
Shonee Kapoor
(Expert) 17 April 2012
This would also depend upon the kind of disorder is there.
And I disagree with Ld. Makkad, that mere taking her for treatment can be a consent and thus invalidating the nullity petition.
Regards,
Shonee Kapoor
harassed.by.498a@gmail.com
M/s. Y-not legal services
(Expert) 16 April 2012
