INDER BIR SINGH Vs. AVNEET KAUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is by the husband Inder Bir Singh filed against the judgment and decree dated March 25, 1987, dismissing his petition filed under Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act seeking annulment of the marriage.

(2.) THE marriage between the parties was solemnised on January 13, 1985 at Chandigarh. They stayed together during the night intervening January 13 and 14, 1985. The husband discovered that the wife's behaviour qua him was abnormal and unusual. She was in a dazed condition and cold to approach. On his enquiring she told him that she was not in a fit condition and she took some medicine and she went into sound sleep. In the morning he informed about the abnormal behaviour of his wife to Lakhbir Singh and his wife Paramjit Kaur. His marriage thus remained unconsummated. The next day also she took tablets. On January 17, 1985, she was taken to General Hospital, Chandigarh, and Dr. (Mrs.) Sudha Jain was consulted. The doctor described her to be suffering from Schizophrenia. The doctor was informed by her that she had bean taking treatment from a doctor in Amritsar for the said disease. Dr. Jain prescribed some drugs. Her father was informed who took her away on January 17, 1985 to Amritsar. In this manner it was pleaded that his consent for the marriage was obtained by the wife and her parents by fraud as the factum of her disease that she was suffering from Schizophrenia was intentionally concealed by them. On this ground annulment of the marriage was prayed for. Avneet Kaur respondent contested the petition and denied being suffering from Schizophrenia. She also denied that her behaviour was abnormal or that the marriage was not consummated. She alleged that the husband and his parents harassed and humiliated her on account of insufficient dowry. She further alleged that she was tortured. She admitted that she was taken to Dr. (Mrs.) Sudha Jain who was under the influence of her husband's father. In order to get rid of her, her father was summoned from Amritsar. Finding her in miserable condition she was taken away by her father She denied that consent of the husband to the marriage was obtained by fraud. Following issues were framed : - (1) Whether the marriage between the parties is liable to be annuled for the reasons given in the petition ? (2) Relief. After evidence was produced by the parties, issue No 1 was decided against the husband and thus the petition was dismissed.

(3.) SEHIZOPHRENIA has been described having four stages in Modi's Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, Twentieth Edition, at pages 397 and 398, as under:- (1) Simple Schizophrenia, (2) Hebephrenia, (3) Katatonia, and (4) Paranoid Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a disease of mental disorder or mental illness. This is one of the grounds provided for seeking divorce under Section 13 (1) (iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act. In that case it is necessary to establish that such a disease is of incurable nature and is of such a kind to an extent that one spouse cannot reasonably be expected to live with the other. This would show intensify of the disease which is to be taken into consideration at the time of granting divorce. However, under Section 12 (1) (c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, if the consent of the spouse for the marriage was obtained by force or by fraud as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the other spouse, the marriage can be annuled. Under this Section it is not necessary for the spouse approaching the Court to substantiate the kind of the mental disorder and its extent that the petitioner could not reasonably be expected to live with the respondent. What is required to be established under Section 12 of the Act is that the other spouse was suffering from mental disorder at the time of the marriage and this fact was concealed. In other words that consent of the petitioner was obtained without disclosing the material fact relating to the other spouse The aforesaid four varieties of Schizophrenia were noticed in Rameshwari Gupta v. Ram Narain Gupta, (1987) 1 D. M. C. 263 (All ). In the first variety i. e. Simple Schizophrenia, the patient loses interest in his best friends, who are few in number and gives up his hobbies. He has conflicts about sex. He loses all ambitions and drifts along in life swelling the ranks of the chronically unemployed. Complete disintegration of the personality generally does not occur but when it does, it occurs after a number of years.