KIRAN BALA ASTHANA Vs. BHAIRE PRASAD SRIVASTAVA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a wife's first appeal from a decree dissolving her marriage with the respondent husband by a decree of divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act on the ground that the appellant has been incurably of unsound mind within the meaning of Clause (iii) of Sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Act.

(2.) The respondent husband was the petitioner in the court below. He had claimed the relief of declaration that the marriage between the parties was null and void and had claimed the relief of dissolution of the marriage in the alternative. The trial court has also recorded the finding that the consent of the husband to the marriage was obtained by fraud, inasmuch as he was not apprised of the fact that a former marriage of the appellant had been declared to be a nullity on the ground that the appellant was of unsound mind at the time of that marriage. Indeed, on that finding, the respondent husband was entitled to an annulment of the marriage by a decree of nullity under Section 12 (1) (c) rather than a dissolution of the marriage by a decree of divorce under Section 13 (i) (iii) of the Act.

(3.) At the outset of the hearing in this Court, it was suggested before me that the appellant was not of unsound mind and it was impossible to say that she was incurably of unsound mind and an application was made on her behalf for medical examination. On a consideration of the material placed before me at that time, I referred the appellant's case to the Lucknow Medical College by my order dated the 18th Jan. 1980 for examination and observation and a report on the following points :-