Hiding illness before marriage a deception, says, Delhi High in landmark judgement

The Delhi high court recently annulled the marriage between a couple after 16 years. It said the failure on the wife’s part to disclose her mental disorder before her wedding constituted a fraud on the husband. A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh, while dealing with an appeal filed by the husband challenging a family court order rejecting his plea to abolish the marriage, said while it was true that the medical opinion in the case was not conclusive, the evidence of the doctors coupled with the medical documents suggested that wife was suffering from schizophrenia.

It is not easy to live with a partner who has mental health issues, and such ailments come with their own challenges for the person facing the problem, and even more so for the spouse. There needs to be an understanding of the problems in a marriage, and communication between the partners– especially when one of the two partners in a marriage is facing challenges of their own,” the court said in a 24-page order. “The failure on the part of the respondent (wife) to disclose her mental disorder before her marriage with the appellant (husband) as alleged by him, constituted a fraud perpetrated upon him,” it added. It said the refusal by the wife to undergo medical examination by the medical board of experts lead to the inference that she was not prepared to face the board as that it could have exposed the condition of her mental well being and would have established the allegation made by the husband that she was suffering from schizophrenia. “Why else, such a spouse–who claims to be not suffering from any mental ailment who has preferred a petition to seek restitution of conjugal rights, and expresses her desire to live with the appellant husband, not undergo such medical examination?” the bench said in a 21-page judgment.

The husband had contended that the marriage was the outcome of a calculated fraud that was perpetrated by the wife and her family members as they chose not to disclose a vital and crucial fact regarding her mental health. He had also claimed that the wife was, before the marriage, and during the days that she stayed with the husband, suffering from acute schizophrenia. He stated that the wife behaved in a very unusual manner after her marriage in the matrimonial home, as well as during their honeymoon while seeking annulment of the marriage. Allowing his plea, the court said that the husband’s life has been ruined and he has remained stuck in the relationship for 16 years without any resolution. The judge also said that they are not medical professionals or experts and acquire limited knowledge based on the arguments of the parties, medical literature produced before them; testimonies of expert witnesses produced in court, and the submissions advanced before them. The court said that marriage is not made of only happy memories and good times, and two people in a marriage have to face challenges and weather the storm together. It also said that “treatment of any mental ailment requires acceptance of the same, not only by the family members but, most importantly, by the person suffering from the problem”.