The Allahabad High Court recently observed that the mere presence of a mental disorder, regardless of its severity, is not enough under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) to justify the dissolution of a marriage.
Section 13(1)(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) allows either spouse to seek the dissolution of marriage if the other spouse is of unsound mind or suffering from a mental disorder.
A Division Bench of Justices Ranjan Roy and Om Prakash Shukla held,
"Section 13 (1) (iii) of H.M. Act does not make mere existence of a mental disorder of any degree sufficient in law to justify dissolution of a marriage. The contest in which the ideas of unsoundness of mind and mental disorder occur in section as ground for dissolution of a marriage, require assessment of degree of mental disorder and its degree must be such that spouse seeking relief cannot reasonably be expected to live with the other."
It also stated that not all mental abnormalities are recognized as valid grounds for divorce, further adding that...
"The medical concern against too readily reducing a human being into a functional nonentity and as a negative unit in family or society, is law's concern also, and is reflected, at least partially, in the requirements of section 13 (1)(iii) of H.M. Act. The personality disintegration that characterizes schizophrenia may be of varying degrees and that not all schizophrenics are characterized by same intensity of disease."
The Court was hearing an appeal filed by a husband challenging the dismissal of his divorce petition by a family court. One of the primary grounds for the petition was that his wife suffered from schizophrenia.
In the petition, filed in 2011, the husband claimed that he had not been informed of his wife’s illness before their marriage in 2003. Additionally, he argued that due to the illness, his wife’s fertility had been compromised, which he believed would end his lineage.
“The law provides that a spouse in order to prove a ground of divorce on the ground of mental illness, ought to prove that the spouse is suffering from a serious case of schizophrenia which must also be supported by medical reports and proved by cogent evidence before Court that disease is of such a kind and degree that husband cannot reasonably be expected to live with wife,” it explained.
The Court noted the family court's finding that the husband had failed to establish the severity and extent of the illness. It observed that the husband had only presented evidence of his wife’s long-term treatment without demonstrating the impact of the condition on her ability to fulfill marital obligations.
“This Court has no hesitation in accepting findings and approach of learned Family Court, which appears to be valid and practical. Though, appellant/ husband was able to prove that respondent/ wife is suffering from schizophrenia, but he failed to prove that disease is of such a kind and degree, which may be accepted for dissolution of marriage in terms of Section 13 (1) (iii) of H.M. Act,” it said.
However, the Court, noting that the husband and wife had been living separately for over a decade, decided to dissolve the marriage. The relief was granted, especially in light of the fact that the wife had not stayed at the matrimonial home for more than 6-7 days after the marriage. Additionally, since the wife had opted not to contest the appeal, the Court interpreted this as an indication of her unwillingness to continue living with the husband.
“Thus, the feeling of deep anguish, disappointment, frustration of the appellant caused by the conduct of respondent for a long time may also lead to mental cruelty and the long period of continuous separation i.e. for more than a decade establishes that the matrimonial bond is beyond repair,” it said.
Advocate Bhavini Upadhyay, Pankaj Kumar Tripathi and Sandhya Dubey represented the husband.
