REPORTABLE                           

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO.    8402          OF 2011 (Arising out of S.L.P. (Civil) No. 29641 of 2009)

Pankaj Mahajan                                      .... Appellant(s)

Versus

Dimple @ Kajal        .... Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

P.Sathasivam,J.

1) Leave granted.

2)  This appeal is directed against the final judgment and  

order dated 06.08.2009 passed by the High Court of Punjab &  

Haryana at Chandigarh in FAO No. M-123 of 2006 whereby  

the  High  Court  allowed  the  appeal  filed  by  the  respondent  

herein  and  set  aside  the  judgment  and  decree  dated  

29.04.2006 passed by the Additional District Judge(Ad-hoc)-

cum-Presiding  Officer,  Fast  Track  Court,  Ropar  filed  under  

Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (in short ‘the Act’).

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3) Brief facts:

(a) The marriage of Pankaj Mahajan-appellant husband and  

Dimple  @  Kajal,  respondent-wife,  was  solemnized  on  

02.10.2000  at  Amritsar.   After  the  marriage,  the  parties  

cohabited  and  resided  together  as  husband  and  wife  at  

Amritsar in the parents’ house of the appellant-husband, but  

later  on  shifted  to  a  rented  house  in  Tilak  Nagar,  Shivala  

Road, Amritsar.  On 11.07.2001, a female child was born, who  

is now in the custody of the respondent-wife.  

(b) After the marriage, the appellant-husband found that the  

respondent-wife was acting in very abnormal manner, as she  

used to abruptly get very aggressive, hostile and suspicious in  

nature.  In a fit of anger, she used to give threats that she  

would  bring  an  end  to  her  life  by  committing  suicide  and  

involve the appellant-husband and his family members in a  

criminal case, unless she was provided a separate residence.  

On one occasion, she attempted to commit suicide by jumping  

from the terrace but was saved because of timely intervention  

of the appellant-husband.

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(c) Succumbing to the pressure of the respondent-wife, the  

appellant-husband shifted to a rented house on 28.11.2001 at  

a monthly rent of Rs.3,200/- and started living with her, but  

the behaviour of the respondent-wife became more aggressive  

and she repeated threats of suicide even in the rented house.  

On enquiry,  the  appellant-husband came  to  know that  the  

respondent-wife  was suffering from acute mental  depression  

coupled with schizophrenia even prior to the marriage and was  

taking treatment for the same.  The appellant-husband hoping  

that  the  respondent-wife  would  become  alright  took  her  to  

various doctors, but her mental condition did not improve and  

she  became  more  and  more  violent  and  aggressive.   She  

insulted and humiliated the appellant-husband in front of his  

colleagues  and  relatives  several  times  and  even  on  one  

occasion she pushed the appellant-husband from the staircase  

causing fracture in his right forearm.

(d) On 23.03.2002, the appellant-husband wrote a letter to  

his mother-in-law stating therein that the respondent-wife was  

repeatedly  threatening  to  commit  suicide  and  even  on  

19.04.2002, he wrote a letter to the SSP, Amritsar regarding  

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the factum of repeated threats to commit suicide given by the  

respondent-wife.  On 24.05.2002, the appellant-husband filed  

a petition under Section 13 of the Act in the District Court at  

Amritsar for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce.  By  

order dated 29.04.2006, the Additional District Judge, Ropar,  

granted a decree of divorce in favour of the appellant-husband.

(e) Being aggrieved by the above-said order, the respondent-

wife  filed FAO No.  M-123 of  2006 before  the High Court  of  

Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh.  The High Court, by order  

dated 06.08.2009, allowed the appeal filed by the respondent-

wife and set aside the judgment and decree dated 29.04.2006  

passed  by  the  Additional  District  Judge(Ad-hoc)-cum-  

Presiding Officer, Fast Track Court, Ropar.  Aggrieved by the  

said decision, the appellant-husband has preferred this appeal  

before this Court by way of special leave petition.

4) Heard Mr. Nidhesh Gupta, learned senior counsel for the  

appellant-husband and Mr.  B.K.  Satija,  learned  counsel  for  

the respondent-wife.   

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Discussion:

5) It  is  not  in dispute  that  the  petition for  dissolution of  

marriage for granting a decree of divorce under Section 13 of  

the Act came to be filed by the appellant-husband before the  

District  Court  at  Amritsar.   The  marriage  was  solemnized  

between the  parties  at  Amritsar  on  02.10.2000.   Since  the  

case of the appellant-husband as well as the respondent-wife  

has already been narrated, there is no need to traverse the  

same once again.  The fact remains that it was the appellant-

husband who approached the court for a decree of divorce on  

the grounds of ‘cruelty’ and ‘unsound mind’ of the respondent-

wife  which is  incurable,  hence  we  have  to  see  whether  the  

appellant-husband has made out a case for divorce on these  

grounds.   

6) Section 13 of  the  Act,  which is  useful  for  our present  

purpose, reads as under:-

“13. Divorce (1) Any marriage solemnised, whether before or  after  the  commencement  of  this  Act,  may,  on  a  petition  presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by  a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party— (i) xxx (i-a) has, after the solemnisation of the marriage, treated the  petitioner with cruelty; or (ib) xxx  (ii) xxx  

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(iii)  has  been  incurably  of  unsound  mind,  or  has  been  suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder  of  such a  kind and to  such an extent  that  the  petitioner  cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.

Explanation .—In this clause,— (a)  the expression “mental  disorder” means mental  illness,  arrested or incomplete  development of  mind, psychopathic  disorder  or  any  other  disorder  or  disability  of  mind  and  includes schizophrenia;…..”

Section 13 specifies the grounds on which a decree of divorce  

may be obtained by either party to the marriage.  The onus of  

proving that the other spouse is incurably of unsound mind or  

is suffering from mental disorder lies on the party alleging it.  

It must be proved by cogent and clear evidence.   

7) In the case on hand, since the appellant-husband has  

approached the District Court for a decree of divorce, the onus  

is on him to prove the grounds put-forth by him.  As regards  

the ground alleged by the appellant-husband for a decree of  

divorce  i.e.  the  respondent-wife  is  suffering  from  unsound  

mind/mental  disorder/schizophrenia,  apart  from  his  own  

evidence as PW-4, various Doctors, who treated her and other  

witnesses were also examined.  From the side of the appellant-

husband,  Dr.  Paramjit  Singh  (PW-1),  Dr.  Ravinder  Mohan  

Sharma (PW-2), Dr. Virendra Mohan (PW-3) and Dr. Gurpreet  

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Inder Singh Miglani (PW-7), who had given treatment to the  

respondent-wife for mental disorder, were examined.

8) Dr. Paramjit Singh (PW-1), Professor and Head Psychiatry  

Department, Medical College, Amritsar in his evidence stated  

as follows:-  

“The  respondent  remained  admitted  in  my Department  at  Amritsar  from 17.12.2001 to  28.12.2001.   This  disease  is  Bipolar Affective Disorder.  I treated her during this period.  She was admitted in Emergency because her disease was in  quite serious stage.  In this disease, the patient can commit  suicide.  When she came, she was aggressive and irritable.  If  the proper treatment is not given to the respondent then her  aggressive nature can be prolonged.  The respondent Kajal  was treated by me by giving electric  shock for  four  times  during her stay in the ward M.R.I. i.e. Magnetic Resonance  Imaging.   MRI  has  got  no  concern  with  the  disease  with  which  the  respondent  was  suffering.   This  disease  is  treatable but not curable.  I have seen the certificate issued  by me which is Ex.P1.  It bears my signatures and is correct  Ex. P2 i.e. Discharge Certificate.  I have brought the original  record of the Department concerning the respondent both in- door  as  well  as  out-door.   A  certified  copy  of  the  same  attested by me is Ex. P3.  These are correct according to the  original  record  brought  by  me  today  in  the  court.   The  respondent was brought to the Hospital for her admission  and treatment by Sh. S.K.  Mahajan son of  later  Sh. Gian  Chand and Pankaj Mahajan.  I have seen the receipts today  in the court which relate to our hospital and the same are  Ex. P4 to Ex. P7 and Ex. P8 is the receipt regarding room  rent  of  our  Hospital.   On  08.10.2002,  father  of  the  respondent  had brought  her  to  our  hospital  and she was  treated by me as well as other doctors of department of our  hospital  from  08.10.2002.   After  the  discharge  from  the  Hospital,  the  respondent  was  brought  to  our  hospital  for  treatment  by  her  father  on  22.01.2002,  02.02.2002,  09.02.2002,  15.04.2002,  08.08.2002,  08.10.2002,  21.11.2002, 05.02.2003 and 20.06.2003.”

   (Emphasis supplied)

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In cross-examination, he admitted that when the respondent-

wife was discharged from the hospital, she was not perfectly  

alright,  however,  she was able  to return home.   He further  

admitted that  in the original  record of  Ex.  P3 some entries  

were made by him and some by junior doctors, who worked  

with him.  All the entries made therein are correct.  He also  

stated that during the treatment, he did not notice abnormal  

behaviour of the respondent-wife.   

9)   Dr.  Ravinder  Mohan  Sharma  (PW-2),  Senior  Medical  

Officer, Punjab Mental Hospital, Amritsar, stated as under:

“According to file No. 57914 the patient was examined in the  out  door  by  Dr.  Charu  Chawla,  Senior  Resident  whose  handwriting I identified as she has been working with me.  After examining the patient and recording the history, she  has diagnosed her to be a case of Bipolar Affective Disorder  with which I agreed and advised her treatment in my own  hand.  There is another entry dated 16.01.2002 again in my  own hand where I had advised her treatment.  The second  file No. 58803 is in the hand of Dr. Purnima Singh, who after  examining presented the case to Dr. Manjit Singh who made  a diagnosis of depressive episode and advised her medical  treatment dated 21.02.2002.  I identified the handwriting of  Dr.  Purnima  Singh  and  Dr.  Manjit  Singh  as  I  had  been  working with them.  I have seen the original outdoor ticket of  respondent and the same are Ex. P11 and Ex. P12.  As per  the history recorded in file No. 58803, there is a mention of  suicide ideas and threats and it  is  recorded that she had  attempted suicide once.  As per the record, hers is a history  of abusive and irritable behaviour.  On 16.01.2002 she was  advised  injection  by  me  because  she  was  irritable  and  restless.  It is not a simple yes or no answer to the question  

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whether  the  disease  is  curable  or  not.   It  is  an  episodic  illness which patient getting episodes of mental illness and  with  treatment  in  between  she  can  remain  normal.   The  intensity  and  frequency  of  these  episodes  is  highly  unpredictable and varies from patient to patient.  Generally,  the frequency increases with every episode.  The disease of  the  respondent  is  treatable  but  cannot  be  definitely  say  curable.   MRI  has  got  nothing  to  do  with  this  disease  of  respondent.”                                         (Emphasis supplied)

In  cross-examination,  he  reaffirmed  what  he  had  stated  in  

examination-in-chief.

10) Dr.  Virendra  Mohan  (PW-3),  M.D.  Psychiatry,  

Dharampur, District Solan, H.P. stated as follows:-

“Patient Dimple, aged 23 years, female (single) d/o Shri Prem  Kumar, village Shivaji  Nagar, House No. 810/11 Ludhiana  was admitted on 22.05.1998 and discharged on 06.06.1998.  She was suffereing from mental disorder at that time.  She  was diagnosed as Chronic Paramoid Schizophrenia for the  last four years.  She got admitted by her father Shri Prem  Kumar, and the history of the patient was described to me.  I  have recorded the history as told by her father.  He told that  she was having mental symptoms for the last 4 to 5 years.  The  sleep  was  less.   She  was  having  acute  psychotic  symptoms at the time of admission.  I have mentioned the  history of the patient in the register which I have brought  today, and the attested true copy of the same is Ex.PW3/As  she was admitted in-door because she showed acute mental  symptoms.  She had paranoid symptoms.  She was suicidal  and also she could harm herself  and others.   The patient  was restless and she could harm and attack others as well,  and could cause injury.  It has been recorded in the history  of  the patient  that  her  Nana had been suffering from the  mental  disease.   There  was  no  test  for  diagnosing  this  disease from which the respondent was suffering.  Only the  history  tells  about  the  earlier  condition  of  the  patient.   I  cannot  say  if  the  disease  for  which  the  respondent  was  suffering is definitely curable or not.  This disease is known  

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for relapses.  There is no direct relationship in the stress or  strain with the disease.  This disease is not related to nose or  throat.  There can be no finding in MRI regarding this kind of  disease.   There  may be suicidal  tendency of  such type  of  person  suffering  from  this  disease.   The  respondent  was  admitted in the hospital due to abnormal behaviour.  I had  observed that she passed stool in her cloth, she has visual  hallucination.  During her admission, she also stated that  she wanted to marry her cousin and she was also laughing  herself.  She was admitted twice in my mental Hospital at  Dharampur.  I got signatures of father of the respondent in  my register, whenever she got admitted by her father in my  hospital and the register bears the signatures of her father.  Second time, she was admitted by her father Prem Kumar on  28.09.1999 and was discharged on 05.10.1999.  That time  she was more excited and more elated and at that time the  diagnosis was quarry mania.  This time she did not have any  paranoid  symptoms.   Her  address  was recorded this  time  810/11 Shivaji Nagar, Ludhiana.  Usually, if patient remains  symptoms free for two years they can get married, but other  partner  should  know  the  problem  so  that  the  treatment  should be continued.”  

   (Emphasis supplied)

In cross-examination, PW-3 stated that during the treatment  

in his hospital, the respondent-wife responded very well to the  

treatment.   No suicidal  action was taken by her during the  

treatment in his hospital for the second time.  He also stated  

that  if  the  patient  remained  symptoms  free  then  she  is  

manageable.   According  to  him,  as  per  the  records,  the  

respondent-wife was manageable.    

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11)   Dr.  Gurpreet  Inder  Singh  Miglani  (PW-7),  Associate  

Professor and Incharge, Department of Psychiatry, Guru Ram  

Dass Medical Hospital, Amritsar stated as under:-

“I remained posted in Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib Charitable  Hospital  at  Ludhiana from 1995 to  1998.   I  was working  there as Consultant for Psychiatry.  I have seen the original  file produced in the Court today relating to Dimple d/o Prem  Kumar r/o Shastri  Nagar, H.No. 257-A Ludhiana.  Dimple  was got  admitted in our Hospital  on 15.06.1996 at  06:50  a.m. by her father Prem Kumar in the Emergency Ward.  She  was suffering from a very violent behaviour and she has to  be given Electric Convulsive Therapy (ECT) on the same day  in the operation theater.  Subsequently also five ECTs were  given as her  violence was not being controlled along with  other anti psychotic drugs.  A diagnosis of F 2004 was made  according to ICD 10 at the time of discharge on 15.07.1996.  She was labeled as suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia  with  incomplete  remission  and  discharged  on  stable  condition.  Due consent for ECTs in operation theater under  general  anesthesia  were  taken  from  the  father  of  the  patient.”   

   (Emphasis supplied)  

In cross-examination, he has stated that he cannot say exactly  

about  the  disease  of  the  respondent-wife  whether  it  can be  

treatable  or  not  at  this  stage.   He  further  stated  that  the  

disease of  the respondent can be cured or it  can aggravate  

after a lapse of time.   

12) It is relevant to point out that the documents produced  

from  the  side  of  the  respondent-wife,  particularly,  medical  

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report issued by Dr.  Harjeet Singh,  Consultant Psychiatrist,  

RW-4  shows as:

“Impression: Bipolar Affective (Mood) Disorder, currently in  remission.”  “Advice: marital therapy for the couple.  Follow up as and  when required.”   

The said Report has been marked as Annexure R10.  A fair  

typed  copy  of  relevant  extract  of  Ex.  P3  shows  that  “Mood  

according to patient is euthenics.”  The Annexure along with  

the counter affidavit of the respondent-wife filed in this Court,  

particularly,  Certificate  issued  by  the  Doctor  refers  “suicide  

threats made by her on some occasions”.    

13) The  appellant-husband  was  examined  as  PW-4.  

According  to  him,  the  marriage  with  respondent-wife  was  

solemnized on 02.10.2000 and it was an arranged marriage.  

After marriage, both of them went to Vaishno Devi, however, in  

the meanwhile he noticed some strange facial expressions and  

behaviour of his wife-Dimple.  He subsequently came to know  

that she was suffering from some serious disease.  She used to  

become annoyed and angry on petty issues, abuse and fight  

with him, flaunt her father’s status and influence, comb her  

hair throughout the day, cry like children, apply brakes of  a  

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moving vehicle, call strangers in the house and offer them tea.  

Even once she called a washerman in the house and gave him  

Rs.  200/-  unnecessarily  and  when  he  said  ‘thanks’  she  

immediately snatched the money from his hands and slapped  

him for no reason and, thereafter, she abused him and pushed  

him out  of  the  house.   According  to  him,  such things  had  

become her everyday chores.  She used to wake up very late in  

the morning.  Whenever his mother and sister called her to  

join them, she started abusing and insulting them.  She used  

to call his mother stupid and his sister as wretched.  One day,  

when his friend Sumit came to their house, she insulted him  

when he was sitting in the drawing room on the ground floor  

and  when  the  appellant-husband was  coming  down to  join  

him, she pushed him from stairs and started laughing, as a  

result, he fell down and got fractured.  She was in the habit of  

listening to phone calls of Madan Lal, the landlord (PW-5) and  

used to abuse his relatives over phone.  One day, when the  

landlord (PW-5) told them that he is fed up with the appellant  

and  his  family  and  asked  to  leave  the  house  immediately  

thereupon, the respondent-Dimple slapped him on his face for  

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which he had to apologise him for her acts.  Even, one day,  

she threw the infant child towards him.   

14) In order to show that his marriage was an arranged one  

he explained that he knows the father of the respondent-wife  

prior  to the marriage as he was his Boss in Life  Insurance  

Corporation office, Amritsar Division.  He worked under him  

for  a  period of  6-8 months.   He  further  explained  that  the  

behaviour of the respondent-wife came to his notice after 1½  

months’ after their marriage and he immediately disclosed this  

fact to her father.  The treatment was given to the respondent-

wife  for  the  first  time  on  06.09.2001  for  her  abnormal  

behaviour.

15) Another important witness examined on the side of the  

appellant-husband  is  Madan  Lal  (PW-5),  the  landlord,  who  

rented his house to them.  In his evidence, PW-5 deposed that  

he is resident of H.No. 62, Tilak Nagar, Amritsar and his wife  

is  also  residing  with  him.   He  rented  out  a  portion  of  the  

building to the appellant-husband and respondent-wife which  

was on the first floor.  He and his wife were residing on the  

ground floor.  According to PW-5, the respondent-wife usually  

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remained sitting in the portion of his house during the day  

time where he is residing with his family unless and until the  

appellant-husband  return  home.   She  used  to  sit  with  his  

daughter  and  daughter-in-law  and  remained  talking  with  

them.  She also quarrels with his wife and daughter due to the  

use of telephone.  He explained that his daughter-in-law told  

him  that  the  respondent-wife  often  threatens  to  commit  

suicide.  The High Court, without looking into the evidence of  

Madan Lal  (PW-5),  erroneously  concluded  that  his  evidence  

was of  no  help.   On the other  hand,  PW-5 has specifically  

narrated  the  behaviour  of  the  respondent  with  his  wife,  

daughter-in-law and the agony he himself had undergone and  

highlighted all those details in the Court.        

16) Apart  from  the  above  oral  evidence,  the  appellant-

husband has also pressed into service a copy of an affidavit of  

the respondent-wife  i.e.  Annexure-R3.   In the said affidavit,  

the respondent-wife has stated that she threatened to commit  

suicide so many times to her in-laws and she even tried to  

commit suicide by way of jumping from the roof of the house  

on  the  intervening  night  of  19-20.09.2001  but  could  not  

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succeed due to timely intervention of her husband.  She also  

stated that she realized that her  attempt to commit  suicide  

was at the instance of her parents and now she is repentant  

for her actions for threatening to commit suicide and apologise  

for the same with the assurance not to repeat such type of  

actions in future.

17) Though the trial Court accepted the claim of cruelty, the  

High  Court  reversed  the  said  conclusion  and  completely  

rejected the claim of divorce even under unsound mind.  In the  

impugned judgment, though the High Court has adverted to  

the  evidence  of  four  doctors,  without  proper  appreciation,  

arrived  at  an  erroneous  conclusion  that  mere  evidence  of  

mental illness is not sufficient to seek decree for divorce.  In  

spite  of  abundant  materials,  unfortunately,  the  High  Court  

has  erroneously  concluded  that  only  wordings  of  Section  

13(1)(iii) of the Act were merely reproduced without adverting  

to  the  facts  of  the  case.   According  to  the  High  Court,  

necessary  materials  were  not  pleaded.   We  are  unable  to  

accept  the  said  conclusion.  Without  proper  discussion  and  

adequate reasons, the High Court rejected the evidence of the  

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appellant-husband as PW-4.   A perusal of his evidence clearly  

show the agony and treatment meted out immediately after the  

marriage  due  to  mental  disorder/unsound  mind  of  the  

respondent-wife.   

18) From the materials placed on record, we are satisfied that  

the appellant-husband has brought cogent materials on record  

to  show  that  the  respondent-wife  is  suffering  from  mental  

disorder, i.e., Schizophrenia.  From the side of the appellant-

husband, various doctors and other witnesses were examined  

to prove that the respondent-wife was suffering from mental  

disorder.  We have already extensively quoted the statements  

of  Dr.  Paramjit  Singh  (PW-1),  Dr.  Ravinder  Mohan Sharma  

(PW-2),  Dr.  Virendra Mohan (PW-3)  and Dr.  Gurpreet  Inder  

Singh Miglani (PW-7) – all the four doctors/Psychiatrists who  

treated  the  respondent-wife,  prescribed  medicines  and  also  

expressed the view that it is “incurable”.  Even the respondent-

wife  and  her  father  themselves  admitted  in  their  cross-

examination that  the  respondent  had taken treatment  from  

the said Doctors for mental illness.  Thus, it is proved beyond  

doubt  that  the  respondent-wife  is  suffering  from  mental  

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disorder/Schizophrenia and it  is not reasonably expected to  

live with her and the appellant-husband has made out a case  

for  a  decree  of  divorce  and  the  decree  should  have  been  

granted in favour of the appellant-husband and against the  

respondent-wife.

19) The High Court, by impugned order, negatived the plea of  

the appellant-husband under Section 13(1)(iii)  of  the Act on  

the ground that the appellant-husband has merely reproduced  

the wordings of the Section without applying the same to the  

facts of the case and that it was not pleaded that it was a case  

of  continuous  or  intermittent  disorder.   The  aforesaid  

reasoning  of  the  High  Court  is  completely  erroneous  and  

contrary  to  the  material  on  record  which  we  have  already  

demonstrated.

20) Coming  to  the  pleadings  before  the  High  Court,  the  

appellant-husband  had  specifically  pleaded  that  the  

respondent-wife was suffering from Schizophrenia, which is a  

kind  of  mental  disorder  and  he  had  pointed  out  specific  

incidents to show that the respondent-wife was not of sound  

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mind.  The relevant portion of the petition for divorce filed by  

the appellant is reproduced hereunder:

“4.  That the petitioner shortly after his marriage found the  respondent to be acting in a very abnormal manner.   She  would abruptly get very aggressive, hostile and suspicious in  nature, ought to hit any body available in her company and  her suspicion would go to such an extent that she should  not  like  to  take  food  without  some  other  member  of  the  family consuming the same.  The respondent would also in a  fit of anger declare that she will bring an end to her life by  committing suicide and would have the petitioner and all the  family members involved in a false criminal case unless she  was provided with separate place of residence…….Enquiries  made  in  the  meantime  revealed  that  the  respondent  has  been suffering from acute mental  depression coupled with  Schizophrenia,  a  mental  disorder  and  illness  at  intervals  with  Psychopathic  disorder  since  developed  into  mania,  which prompted her to become more and more violent and  aggressive and on one such occasion she repeated threat of  suicide and attempted jumping from the house of her in-laws  on 19/20.09.2001 but could not succeed in her attempt due  to timely intervention of her husband, who is the petitioner… ……All  the  same  hoping  that  treatment  may  cure  the  respondent  she was got  treated  by the petitioner  and her  parents from various places in connection with her mental  illness  but  such  treatment  provided  to  her  including  administering her electric shocks, did not improve the state  of affairs.  She was so treated as indoor and outdoor patient  in Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Amritsar in Psychiatric  Department in Dr. Vidya Sagar Mental Health Institute and  in Bhatti Neuro Psychiatric Hospital till the end of the year  2001 but all the intensive and costly treatment did not yield  fruit and she could not be cured of her mental sickness.  The  respondent  is,  therefore,  suffering  from  major  mental  disorder in which she has suicidal  tendency and becomes  aggressive and violent in her behaviour for which she was  getting treatment, as referred above, before as well as after  the marriage.   She has been given anti-psychic  treatment  and even electric therapy at four occasions at least to the  knowledge of the petitioner but the things did not improve  therewith.   The  respondent  has,  therefore,  been  suffering  incurably  from  unsoundness  of  mind  and  has  been  so  suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder  

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of such a kind and such an extent that the petitioner cannot  reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.

5.  That on one such occasion under the fit of insanity the  respondent pushed the petitioner from the staircase leading  to their residential portion causing the petitioner fracture of  right  hand  for  which  he  got  treatment  from,  Dr.  Hardas  Singh Sandhu in the last week of November, 2001.  Such  aggressiveness was not first of its kind and in the past also  the respondent under the fit of insanity ventured to slap the  petitioner in his face in the presence of his parents…..”

 The  above  averments  make  it  clear  that  the  appellant-

husband,  after  narrating  specific  incidents  of  abnormal  

behaviour of the respondent-wife had duly pleaded that she  

was  suffering  continuously/intermittently  from  ‘incurable’  

mental disorder of such a nature that he cannot be reasonably  

expected to live with her.  It was also stated therein that due  

to her unsoundness, the respondent-wife was not able to lead  

a married life and thus the appellant-husband was entitled to  

a decree of divorce.  Apart from this, the appellant-husband  

had  brought  cogent  evidence  on  record  to  show  that  the  

respondent-wife  was not  in a fit  state  of  mind whereas the  

respondent-wife  could  not  lead  any  acceptable  evidence  to  

rebut  the  same.   We  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  

respondent  and her  father  admitted  her  mental  illness  and  

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periodic  treatment  from  the  doctors  mentioned  above.   No  

doubt, it was pointed out that after the marriage, the couple  

was blessed with a female child and at present she is studying  

in a school and there is no dispute about the same.  It is clear  

from the respondent’s evidence that from the date of delivery  

of child, the child was periodically taken care of by her grand-

parents.  It is also relevant to note that whenever the child was  

with  respondent-wife,  she  (the  mother)  was  not  taking  

appropriate  care  which  is  clear  from  the  evidence  of  the  

appellant-husband  (PW-4)  and  their  landlord,  Madan  Lal  

(PW-5).  One incident which was referred to was that many a  

times  the  respondent-wife  casually  threw  the  child  facing  

opposite to her.  Under these circumstances, the High Court  

ought to have accepted the case of the appellant-husband.

21) The  High  Court  rejected  the  plea  of  the  appellant-

husband regarding cruelty on the ground that apart from his  

statement, there is no evidence to prove the same and Madan  

Lal (PW-5), being hearsay, his evidence was not reliable.  As  

rightly  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Nidhesh  Gupta,  learned  senior  

counsel for the appellant-husband that as far as Madan Lal  

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(PW-5) is concerned, the High Court has only referred to his  

cross-examination without even adverting to the examination-

in-chief  wherein  he  had  categorically  stated  about  cruelty  

meted out by respondent-wife to the appellant-husband.  The  

relevant portion of the evidence of PW-5 is as follows:

“Thereafter Pankaj Mahajan, his wife Dimple alias Kajal and  their infant child aged about 4-5 months started living on  the upper portion of my house.  They lived in my house on  rent  upto  30.11.2002.   After  some  days  of  taking  of  the  house on rent by them, I felt that the girl Dimple was not  taking  any  interest  in  household  affairs  and  she  used  to  avoid doing household works………..

……….She used to sit idle after Pankaj’s going to office and  was  not  breast-feeding  the  child  even  after  child’s  uncontrollable crying.  Not only this, she used to come down  and sit  in  our  bedroom for  long hours unnecessarily  and  talking rubbish and repeating on the same thing again and  again.  Many times when I asked Dimple why she behaves  like this and whether she is alright or not, then she did not  reply back and kept mum and whenever she answered to my  queries, she used to say that I want to die and my heart says  that I should commit suicide.  When I heard this from the  mouth of Dimple, I become doubly sure that she is mentally  unsound and due to her unsound behaviour even my family  too  become  disturbed  and  started  living  in  constant  fear  because  it  appeared  from her  behaviour  that  she  will  do  something extreme one day and if she does so, then apart  from  her  in-laws,  all  of  us  too  will  be  unnecessarily  implicated in the criminal case.  Dimple used to come to our  house during lunch time and demand food for herself and  used to sit in our house for long hours and whenever Pankaj  used to come back from his office, she used to tell him that  we will go to our portion after taking meals from us.  She  used to repeat one thing many times.  One day, she even  went to the extent of saying that you are cooking food every  day-then  why  don’t  you  keep  us  as  your  paying  guest  because I cannot prepare food myself and I also cannot look  after my child.  Mostly Dimple used to leave her child with  

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my  daughter-in-law  and  request  my  daughter-in-law  that  she  should  change  clothes,  bath  the  child  and  give  her  canned milk.  My daughter-in-law did all this for 5-6 times,  but one day my daughter-in-law clearly told Dimple that this  is your duty and she herself should look after the child.  On  hearing all this, Dimple immediately turned red in anger and  slapped my daughter-in-law and called her idiot.”

It is clear from the above that the respondent-wife was not of  

sound mind and she did not look after the household work  

rather she used to give threats to commit suicide.  She did not  

even  make  food  for  the  appellant-husband  and  he  had  to  

arrange the same from outside.  Apart from this, she used to  

embarrass the appellant-husband before his landlord’s family  

and because of  her  weird  behaviour  and threats to  commit  

suicide, the appellant-husband was forced to leave the rented  

accommodation.   Madan  Lal,  the  landlord,  PW-5  has  also  

highlighted several instances when the respondent-wife used  

to quarrel with her husband and he had to face humiliation in  

front of others because of her behaviour.  Inasmuch as PW-5  

was  living  in  the  same house  on the  ground floor  and the  

appellant-husband and the respondent-wife were living on the  

first floor, the said witness being the eye-witness to the cruelty  

meted out by the respondent-wife to the appellant-husband,  

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as he had himself seen the behaviour and the activities of the  

respondent-wife  including  humiliation  and  threats  of  

committing  suicide,  cannot  be  thrown  out.   Under  those  

circumstances,  the  observation  of  the  High  Court  that  the  

statement of PW-5 is only hearsay is liable to be rejected.   

22) In addition to the evidence, the appellant-husband had  

categorically  pleaded  in  his  petition  for  divorce  about  the  

cruelty meted out to him.  He narrated the incidents when she  

used to give threats to commit suicide and had even tried to  

commit suicide by jumping from the terrace and also pushed  

him  from  the  staircase  resulting  in  fracture  in  his  right  

forearm.  Due to her mental disorder, on various occasions,  

she even slapped him.  She was also most disrespectful to his  

parents and she even forced him to live separately from them.  

His evidence in the form of an affidavit filed before the trial  

Court is available in the paper book wherein he narrated all  

the  sufferings  meted  out  by  her.   It  is  useful  to  refer  the  

relevant portion from the same:

“My wife Dimple used to become annoyed and angry on petty  issues.  She used to abuse and fight with me.  She used to  flaunt her father’s status and influence.  She used to comb  her hair throughout the day.  She used to cry like children.  

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She used to apply brakes of a moving vehicle.  She used to  call  strangers in the house and offer them tea.  Once she  even called  a  washerman in the  house and gave  him Rs.  200/-  unnecessarily  and  when  he  said  thanks  she  immediately snatched Rs. 200/- from his hands and slapped  him for no rhyme or reason and thereafter she abused him  and pushed him out of the house.  In fact, such things had  become her everyday chores.  She used to tell me everything  about sex lives and relationship of her maternal uncle and  aunt.  She was in the habit of not sleeping throughout night  and  also  used  to  keep  me  awake  throughout  night  and  whenever I tried to sleep, she used to insist me to talk to her  and whenever I told her to allow me to sleep, she used to  press my neck.  She used to wakeup the child from deep  slumber and start slapping her for no reason.  She was in  the  habit  of  wrapping  the  child  in  wrapper  throughout  continuously  and  due  to  which  child  used  to  weep  continuously.   She used to  say that  she is  obsessed and  hears outer world’s voices and barking of dogs.  She used to  tell me that she is regularly seeing evil spirits.  She used to  go out  for  roaming at  2-3 a.m. in the night.   Whenever I  refused to listen or agree to her demands, she used to throw  dirty clothes upon me.  She was in the bad habit or keeping  the door of toilet opened throughout the day even while she  was  bathing  or  refreshing  herself.   She  used  to  doubt  everything whenever she started eating her food.  She also  used to doubt her mother and sister and used to say that  both of them have immoral character.  She was in the habit  of opening and closing the central locking system of the car.  She was in the habit of increasing the volume of TV to the  maximum unnecessarily.   Whenever I used to go to office,  she used to stop me from going and when I told her that I  have to go to office, she used to say that she will  commit  suicide.  In fact she was in the habit of pressing and coaxing  me for all  her needs and desires.  She used to say that I  want to live with Happy and also used to say that she has no  interest in living with me.  She stressed that she will leave  me and starts living with Happy.  (Happy is the son of my  wife’s elder paternal uncle.)  

She  was  in  the  habit  of  unnecessarily  arguing  with  my  parents and used to abuse them and whenever I stopped her  from doing so, she used to threaten me that she will commit  suicide.  However, I used to request my parents to look after  her in my absence.  But she used to misbehave and insult  them.  She used to say that she will buy her own house and  

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will  start  living  in  that  house  because  this  house  is  very  small for her needs and she feels suffocated in this house.  Although my house is in a very posh colony and it is a very  spacious,  airy,  open  and  large  house.   I  noticed  that  condition of Dimple is becoming worse every day.  I became  sure  that  she  is  actually  mad  and  she  is  concealing  her  madness from me.  I  noticed that she used to keep some  medicine in her purse and used to take that medicine often.  She was actually sex-hungry and was not interested in doing  any household  works.   She  never  showed any  interest  in  keeping her bedroom and drawing clean and tidy.  She was  in the habit of wearing the clothes of 3-4 days regularly.  She  used to wake up very late in the morning.  Whenever my  mother and sister called her to join them, she was abusing  and insulting them.  She used to call my mother stupid and  my sister  as  wretched.   However,  I  controlled  myself  and  kept on tolerating her conduct, because all of us were in the  fervent hope that one day God will cure her….

…..One day,  my friend Sumit came to my house.   Earlier  also he used to come to my house as he is also working with  me in the LIC.  He wished Dimple and enquired about her  and  instead  of  welcoming  him,  Dimple  insulted  him  by  saying why are you coming to our house uncalled every day.  He felt  very insulted and sat  in the drawing room on the  ground floor and when I was also coming down to join him,  Dimple  pushed  me  from  stairs  and  started  laughing  unnecessarily.  As a result of aforesaid pushing, I fell down  and  bones  of  my  right  arm  and  wrist  got  fractured.  Perchance, Ashok Kumar too had come to my house on that  day and he was repeatedly asking for meals.  But when he  saw my condition, he immediately took me to the Hospital of  Dr. Hardas where plaster was applied on my arm and wrist.  When we came back, to my utter shock and surprise, Dimple  did not even notice any change in me and did not remotely  felt that I have received fractures in my arm and wrist and  plaster has been applied on my arm.  One day when we were  sitting in the drawing room, I called Dimple and asked her to  bring tea for me.  At that time she was wearing very dirty  clothes.  So, I asked her to immediately go and change her  dirty clothes and wear some good clothes.  But instead of  changing  her  clothes,  she  started  abusing  me  and  even  slapped me on my face.  Thereupon my mother asked her  why  she  is  behaving  like  this,  upon  which  she  rose  her  hands to slap my mother too, but my sister stopped her from  doing so.  We narrated all the above incidents of Dimple to  

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her father.  He expressed his shock and apologized on her  behalf and advised us to start living separately and said that  she will start behaving properly and nicely.”  

All the above details in the form of assertion in the affidavit  

clearly show that the appellant-husband faced cruelty at the  

hands of the respondent on several occasions.   

23)  It is well settled that giving repeated threats to commit  

suicide amounts to cruelty.  When such a thing is repeated in  

the form of sign or gesture, no spouse can live peacefully.  In  

the case on hand, the appellant-husband has placed adequate  

materials  to  show  that  the  respondent-wife  used  to  give  

repeated  threats  to  commit  suicide  and  once  even  tried  to  

commit  suicide  by  jumping  from  the  terrace.   Cruelty  

postulates a treatment of  a  spouse with such cruelty as to  

create reasonable apprehension in his mind that it would be  

harmful or injurious for him to live with the other party.  The  

acts of the respondent-wife are of such quality or magnitude  

and consequence as to cause pain, agony and suffering to the  

appellant-husband which amounted to cruelty in matrimonial  

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law.  From the pleadings and evidence, the following instances  

of cruelty are specifically pleaded and stated.  They are:

i.  Giving repeated threats to commit suicide and  

even trying to commit suicide on one occasion  

by jumping from the terrace.

ii. Pushing  the  appellant  from  the  staircase  

resulting into fracture of his right forearm.

iii. Slapping the appellant and assaulting him.

iv. Misbehaving with the colleagues and relatives  

of  the  appellant  causing  humiliation  and  

embarrassment to him.

v. Not  attending  to  household  chores  and  not  

even  making  food  for  the  appellant,  leaving  

him to fend for himself.

vi. Not taking care of the baby.

vii. Insulting  the  parents  of  the  appellant  and  

misbehaving with them.

viii. Forcing  the  appellant  to  live  separately  from  

his parents.

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ix. Causing  nuisance  to  the  landlord’s  family  of  

the  appellant,  causing  the  said  landlord  to  

force the appellant to vacate the premises.

x. Repeated fits of insanity, abnormal behaviour  

causing great mental tension to the appellant.

xi. Always  quarreling  with  the  appellant  and  

abusing him.

xii. Always behaving in an abnormal manner and  

doing weird acts causing great mental cruelty  

to the appellant.

24)  All these factual details culled out from the pleadings and  

evidence of both the parties clearly show the conduct of the  

respondent-wife  towards  the  appellant-husband.  With  these  

acceptable facts and details, it cannot be concluded that the  

appellant-husband has not made out a case of cruelty at the  

hands  of  the  respondent-wife.   We  are  satisfied  that  the  

appellant-husband had placed ample evidence on record that  

the  respondent-wife  is  suffering  from “mental  disorder”  and  

due to her acts and conduct, she caused grave mental cruelty  

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to him and it is not possible for the parties to live with each  

other, therefore, a decree of divorce deserves to be granted in  

favour of the appellant-husband.  In addition to the same, it  

was  also  brought  to  our  notice  that  because  of  the  

abovementioned  reasons,  both  appellant-husband  and  the  

respondent-wife  are  living separately  for  the  last  more than  

nine years.  There is no possibility to unite the chain of marital  

life between the appellant-husband and the respondent-wife.  

25) In the light of the facts and circumstances as discussed  

above,  in  our  view,  the  impugned  order  of  the  High  Court  

resulted  in  grave  miscarriage  of  justice  to  the  appellant-

husband, more particularly, the High Court failed to consider  

the  relevant  material  aspects  from  the  pleadings  and  the  

evidence, the ultimate conclusion cannot be sustained.  The  

appellant-husband  established  and  proved  both  grounds  in  

terms of Section 13 of the Act.  In the result, the appeal stands  

allowed.  The divorce petition filed by the appellant-husband  

stands  accepted  and  a  decree  of  divorce  is  hereby  passed  

dissolving the marriage of the appellant with the respondent  

from today, i.e. 30.09.2011.  The impugned order of the High  

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Court  dated  06.08.2009  in  FAO No.  M-123  of  2006  is  set  

aside.  The appellant-husband is directed to pay an amount of  

Rs.  2 (Two) lakhs as alimony to the respondent-wife in two  

equal instalments within a period of three months from today  

and to deposit Rs. 3 (Three) lakhs in the name of his daughter  

in the shape of three FDRs in a nearest nationalised bank in  

three  equal  instalments  commencing  from  January,  2012  

ending with June, 2012.  On attaining majority, the daughter  

is permitted to withdraw the amount.  Till  such period, the  

respondent-wife  is  permitted  to  withdraw  accrued  interest  

once in three  months directly  from the  bank from the  said  

deposit for the benefit and welfare of their daughter.  

           ..…....…………………………………J.  

 (P. SATHASIVAM)                         

 .…....…………………………………J.    (DR. B.S. CHAUHAN)  

NEW DELHI; SEPTEMBER 30, 2011.             

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