A recent ruling by the Chhattisgarh High Court emphasized the critical need for strong medical evidence in cases seeking to annul a marriage on the grounds of mental illness. The court dismissed an appeal against a family court order that had rejected a husband's plea to annul his marriage.
The husband had filed for annulment under Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. He claimed his wife had schizophrenia since before their marriage and that this fact was deliberately concealed from him, constituting fraud. He also alternatively sought divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion.
He stated that after their marriage in 2008, he observed abnormal behavior in his wife, including shouting, breaking things, and using abusive language. He alleged she was on psychiatric medication, which she initially hid. He later had her medically examined and claimed she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The wife eventually left the matrimonial home in 2018 with one of their two children and did not return.
The family court dismissed the case. It found that the husband failed to prove his allegations with legally admissible evidence. Although he submitted some medical prescriptions, he did not examine the treating doctors as witnesses. There was no expert opinion or clinical record to conclusively prove the wife had a mental disorder at the time of marriage.
The High Court agreed with this assessment. It noted that the burden of proof rests heavily on the person seeking annulment.
The judgment referenced legal precedent, stating: “the burden of proof rests heavily upon the party seeking annulment... and the standard of proof in such matters is higher, given the consequences attached to severing a marital tie.”
The court ruled that mere prescriptions and unchallenged testimony are not enough to prove a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, especially without the supporting evidence of medical experts. The long period of cohabitation and the birth of two children were also seen as factors undermining the annulment plea. The alternative grounds of cruelty and desertion were also found unsubstantiated by independent evidence.
Ultimately, the High Court found no merit in the appeal and upheld the family court's decision to dismiss the case, affirming that a petitioner must conclusively prove their case with credible evidence.
Case Title: x Vs y
Case Number: FA(MAT) No. 55 of 2023
