ROSITA ANTONEITA REGINA FERNANDES Vs. JOSE FERNANDES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the learned counsel for the parties. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. The learned counsel appearing for the respondent no.1 waives service.

(2.) Two divorcees, in their mid-40s, marry each other. They live happily or normally for a few years. Then, the husband realises that the wife is not interested in him; she is interested in his property. The wife is past her prime to beget children, too. They frequently fight. So he thinks back and realises that when he 'consented' to marry, he suffered from a "grave lack of discretion of judgment". And that grave lack of discretion of judgment is about the "essential matrimonial rights and duties" the wife and husband are expected to give and accept mutually. Given the personal laws that bind them, the husband takes recourse to Canon Law and gets the marriage annulled.

(3.) So, the questions are these: (a) What is a grave lack of discretion of judgment? (b) What are the essential matrimonial rights and duties between the two spouses?