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TMI Blog2013 (9) TMI 1298X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tenability of the Appellant's submissions. The relevant facts are stated as hereunder: The marriage between the Appellant and the Respondent was solemnized on 31.05.1995 at Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) as per Hindu rites and customs and their marriage was consummated. It is the case of the Appellant that at the time of marriage, he was working as Senior Resident at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. After marriage, the Respondent-wife joined the Appellant at New Delhi and secured employment in the said Institute. 4. It is the case of both the parties that when they were living at New Delhi, the brother of the Appellant died in an accident. At that point of time, the Appellant herein came to Yanam (Andhra Pradesh) leaving the Respondent at Delhi, who gave birth to a female child on 07.07.1997. It is contended by the learned senior Counsel for the Appellant, Mr. Jaideep Gupta, in the pleadings that dispute arose between the Appellant and his parents on the one hand and the in-laws of the deceased brother of the Appellant on the other. There were threats to kill the Appellant. During that period, Respondent's father stayed in the company of the Ap ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... me and Bhavani Nursing Home to work as a doctor. In the second week of November, 1998, the Appellant came to Rajahmundry and asked the Respondent to go to Yanam and stay with his parents saying that she can have the company of his parents and she can carry on the medical profession along with his father who was also a doctor to which she agreed. Thereafter, the Appellant got issued a notice dated 25.11.1998 to the Respondent making certain false allegations saying that she was suffering from schizophrenia and she had suicidal tendencies etc., with the object of marrying again for fat dowry. The Respondent has denied that she suffered from schizophrenia or suicidal tendencies and further stated that during her delivery days and subsequently on account of the threats received from in-laws of the Appellant's deceased brother, there was some depression for which the Respondent was treated and the Appellant never allowed her to go through the prescriptions of her treatment at anytime and she was also not allowed to see the medicines given to her as part of treatment for her depression. It is stated by her that she believes that as part of the ill motive of the Appellant, he might ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and being silent for long periods without any communication. 8. Further, he has stated that after the death of his brother, he brought his wife and child to Hyderabad where he had secured a job as Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics in Gandhi Medical College. He further contended that on account of the death of his brother, tension developed in his family and that neither he nor his family members harassed the Respondent demanding goods etc. He also stated that at the time of marriage, mental status of the Respondent was not known to him. Further, the Respondent tried to evict his parents from their house at Yanam and when she failed in her attempt, she filed O.S. No. 53 of 1998 at District Munsif's Court, Yanam which shows her erratic attitude towards the parents of the Appellant. 9. The Respondent fell seriously ill due to which the Appellant sent her mother a telegram to come and take care of her. She went to live with her mother at Rajahmundry as she consulted some psychiatrists who advised her to live with her mother. The Appellant visited her after two weeks and found that her mental condition had aggravated to such a point that it would be impossible for him to li ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and decree of the trial court passed in O.P. Nos. 1/99 and 203/2000 the Respondent filed appeals before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh questioning the correctness of the same urging various grounds. The High Court on re-appreciation of pleadings and evidence held that there is no positive evidence to show that the Respondent has suffered schizophrenia and even in the case that she suffered from schizophrenia, it cannot be said that she was suffering from such a serious form of the disease that it would attract the requirements of Section 13(1)(iii) of the Act for grant of decree for dissolution of marriage between the parties. 13. On perusal of the facts and legal evidence on record and hearing rival legal contentions urged by both the parties, the points that would arise for consideration of this Court are: (1) Whether the Respondent is suffering from a serious mental disorder i.e. schizophrenia or incurable unsoundness of mind, and can this be considered as a ground for divorce Under Section 13(1)(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955? (2) Whether the High Court has correctly re-appreciated the facts pleaded and evidence on record while dismissing the divorce petition ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of thoughts, more ontological than epistemological. Theories of mental phenomena are diverse and include the dualist concept--shared by Descartes and Sigmund Freud--of the separateness of the existence of the physical or the material world as distinguished from the non-material mental world with its existence only spatially and not temporally. There is, again, the theory which stresses the neurological basis of the mental phenomenon by asserting the functional correlation of the neuronal arrangements of the brain with mental phenomena. The behaviourist tradition, on the other hand, interprets all reference to mind as constructs out of behaviour. Functionalism , however, seems to assert that mind is the logical or functional state of physical systems. But all theories seem to recognise, in varying degrees, that the psychometric control over the mind operates at a level not yet fully taught to science. When a person is oppressed by intense and seemingly insoluble moral dilemmas, or when grief of loss of dear ones etch away all the bright colours of life, or where a broken marriage brings with it the loss of emotional security, what standards of normalcy of behaviour could be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... se that ail the body in a fundamental way. In Philosophy and Medicine , Vol. 5 at page X the learned Editor refers to what distinguishes the two qualitatively: Undoubtedly, mental illness is so disvalued because it strikes at the very roots of our personhood. It visits us with uncontrollable fears, obsessions, compulsions, and anxieties.... ... This is captured in part by the language we use in describing the mentally ill. One is an hysteric, is a neurotic, is an obsessive, is a schizophrenic, is a manic-depressive. On the other hand, one has heart disease, has cancer, has the flu, has malaria, has smallpox... The principle laid down by this Court in the aforesaid case with all fours is applicable to the fact situation on hand wherein this Court has rightly referred to Section 13(1)(iii) of the Act and explanation to the said clause and made certain pertinent observations regarding unsound mind or mental disorder and the application of the same as grounds for dissolution of marriage. This Court cautioned that Section 13(1)(iii) of the Act does not make a mere existence of a mental disorder of any degree sufficient in law to justify the dissolution of marriage. The H ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by the trial court with regard to the ailment attributed to the Respondent for seeking dissolution of marriage under the ground of 'unsound mind' which is a non-existent fact. In the case of Vinita Saxena v. Pankaj Pandit (2006) 3 SCC 778, this Court has examined in detail the issue of schizophrenia wherein the facts are different and the facts and evidence on record are not similar to the case on hand. Therefore, the observations made in the judgment for grant of decree for dissolution of marriage Under Section 13(1)(ia) and Section 13(1)(iii) of the Act cannot be applied to the fact situation of the case on hand. But, we would like to examine what was said in that case on the issue of this disease, schizophrenia-: What is the disease and what one should know? *A psychotic lacks insight, has the whole of his personality distorted by illness, and constructs a false environment out of his subjective experiences. *It is customary to define 'delusion' more or less in the following way. A delusion is a false unshakeable belief, which is out of keeping with the patient's social and cultural background. German psychiatrists tend to stress the morbid origin o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the illness, but may improve during periods of remission. A patient may experience: *A single psychotic episode during the course of the illness *Multiple psychotic episodes over a lifetime.. 16. As per evidence of RW-2, schizophrenia is a treatable, manageable disease, which can be put on par with hypertension and diabetes. So also, PW-4, who had examined the Respondent at NIMHANS, Bangalore stated that the team could not find any evidence suggesting schizophrenia at the time of their examining the Respondent and he had stated in his cross-examination that no treatment including drugs was given to her at NIMHANS as they did not find any abnormality in her. They thus gave her a certificate of normal mental status, based on the absence of any abnormal findings in her medical report including psychiatric features in the past history and normal psychological test. We have carefully perused the Report marked as Exh. B-10 dated 24.4.1999 given by the Doctors of Institute of Mental Health, Hyderabad before the trial court. The learned trial Judge has misread the contents of the said report and also wrongly interpreted the same and recorded the finding that the Respondent is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd therefore it squarely falls within the provision of Section 13(1)(iii) of the Act for grant of decree of dissolution of marriage in his favour. The High Court has rightly held that the trial court has erroneously accepted the same and recorded its finding of fact on the contentious issues to pass decree of divorce in favour of the Appellant, which is contrary to the decision of this Court in the case of Ram Narain Gupta v. Rameshwari Gupta supra. The same decision has been relied upon by the Respondent before the High Court, wherein the said decision was correctly accepted by it to set aside the erroneous finding of fact recorded by the trial court on the contentious issue. 18. The legal question that arises for our consideration is whether the marriage between the parties can be dissolved by granting a decree of divorce on the basis of one spouse's mental illness which includes schizophrenia Under Section 13(1)(iii) of the Act. In the English case of Whysall v. Whysall (1959) 3 All ER 389, it was held that a spouse is 'incurably of unsound mind' if he or she is of such mental incapacity as to make normal married life impossible and there is no prospect of any imp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... We are of the view that the High Court in exercise of its appellate jurisdiction has rightly come to a different conclusion that the Respondent is not suffering from the ailment of schizophrenia or incurable unsoundness of mind. Further, the High Court has rightly rejected the finding of the trial court which is based on Exh.B-10 and other documentary and oral evidence by applying the ratio laid down by this Court in the case of Ram Narain Gupta v. Rameshwari Gupta referred to supra. A pertinent point to be taken into consideration is that the Respondent had not only completed MBBS but also did a post graduate diploma in Medicine and was continuously working as a Government Medical Officer and had she been suffering from any serious kind of mental disorder, particularly, acute type of schizophrenia, it would have been impossible for her to work in the said post. The Appellant-husband cannot simply abandon his wife because she is suffering from sickness. Therefore, the High Court allowed both the CMAs and dismissed O.P. No. 203/2000 filed by the Appellant for divorce and allowed O.P. No. 1/99 filed by the Respondent for restitution of conjugal rights wherein the High Court granted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... igh water, rain or sunshine. Life is made up of good times and bad, and the bad times can bring with it terrible illnesses and extreme hardships. The partners in a marriage must weather these storms and embrace the sunshine with equanimity. Any person may have bad health, this is not their fault and most times, it is not within their control, as in the present case, the Respondent was unwell and was taking treatment for the same. The illness had its fair share of problems. Can this be a reason for the Appellant to abandon her and seek dissolution of marriage after the child is born out of their union? Since the child is now a grown up girl, her welfare must be the prime consideration for both the parties. In view of the foregoing reasons, we are of the opinion that the two parties in this case must reconcile and if the Appellant so feels that the Respondent is still suffering, then she must be given the right treatment. The Respondent must stick to her treatment plan and make the best attempts to get better. It is not in the best interest of either the Respondent or her daughter who is said to be of adolescent age for grant of a decree of dissolution of marriage as prayed for by th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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