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SC: wife’s mental state no reason
Marriage annulment
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, May 2
A Division Bench of the Supreme Court has ruled in a significant judgement that merely a finding about a wife suffering from some mental disorder and her not cohabitating with her husband during the period they stayed together is not sufficient for declaring a marriage null and void under Section 12 (1) (B) read with Section 5 (ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

“To brand the wife as unfit for marriage and procreation on account of the mental disorder it needs to be established that the ailment suffered by her is of such a kind or such an extent that it is impossible for her to lead a normal married life. This is the requirement of the law as appears on fair reading of the statutory provisions”, the court held.

Section 4 (ii) lays down as one of the conditions for a Hindu marriage that neither party must be suffering from unsoundness of mind, mental disorder, insanity or epilepsy and Section 12 (1) (B) refers that any marriage shall be voidable and may be annulled if the marriage is in contravention of the conditions specified in clause (ii) of Section 5.

Dismissing the appeal of R Lakshmi Narayan against the judgement of the Madras High Court, the Bench comprising Mr Justice D P Mohapatra and Mr Justice U C Banerjee observed, “Such conditions in the very nature of things call for strict standard of proof.”

Delivering the judgement, Mr Justice Mohapatra stated an objection to a marriage on the ground of mental incapacity must depend on a question of degree of the defect in order to rebut the validity of a marriage which has in fact taken place.

“The onus of bringing a case under this clause lies heavily on the petitioner who seeks annulment of the marriage on the ground of unsoundness of mind or mental disorder. The court will examine the matter with all possible care and anxiety”, the judge, explaining the legal position, pointed out.

The husband appellant, Narayan, and the respondent Santhi were married on November 1, 1987, according to Hindu rites.

It was an arranged marriage and the decision was taken after the appellant had met the respondent and talked with her. After staying together for about 25 days, the couple parted company.

Thereafter, the appellant filed a petition under Section 5 (ii) read with Section 12 (1) (B) in February 1988, seeking a declaration that the marriage was null and void as the respondent suffered from incurable mental disorder and was not in a fit mental state to lead a married life. He said she refused to have cohabitation with him and attempts to cure her proved futile.

The respondent wife contested, maintaining they had a happy married life immediately after marriage but the appellant was interested in having a second marriage for more dowry.

The trial court held that the appellant failed to establish her mental disorder condition or that there was no cohabitation or she could not lead a married life.

The lower appellate court reversed the findings. The high court, however, held the marriage was not vitiated by fraud or misrepresentation and rejected the husband’s contention that the wife was suffering from chronic and incurable mental disorder and there was no cohabitation between the parties. The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the high court’s judgement.

Badal’s OSD gets PSEB plum post
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 2
The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), which has of late gone in for a spate of contractual appointments, appointed Mr Sukhmander Singh Sekhon, Information Officer of the board working as an Officer on Special Duty to the Punjab Chief Minister, as Deputy Director, Coordination.

Mr Sekhon was appointed Deputy Director, Coordination, on April 30 following an interview held earlier in the day. According to the terms of the appointment, Mr Sekhon has been given a huge jump in salary after being given the grade of Rs 8,500 - Rs 9,400, besides a special pay of Rs 800 per month.

Sources disclosed that Mr Sekhon has been given the new appointment against an ex cadre post. The board had invited applications for the post through a circular under which said applicants with nine years of service and a law degree were eligible. Mr Sekhon just about fulfills the conditions. However, the Director, Coordination, who is posted in Delhi, is an engineer.

While a new post has been created to “adjust’’ Mr Sekhon, the board has also been distributing largesse to other employees close to the ruling party.

In another case, the board has given charge of Information Officer to Mr Surjit Singh Bhatti, who was earlier working as an upper division clerk. He is the brother of Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, who is also an Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister.

The PSEB, which is facing a severe financial crisis, has also made other contractual appointments recently. They include appointing former Board Administrative Member Surinderpal Singh Mann’s son as Adviser, Transport. Former Olympian Baldev Singh has been appointed as Adviser, Sports, on contract basis for one year. Mr Baldev Singh has been given a contract of Rs 12,000 per month.

Dr V.P. Chawla has been appointed on a contract of Rs 15,000 per month besides TA, DA of a Grade I officer. Dr Chawla has been assigned the job of Human Resource Development and Training besides implementing the reports of various consultants hired by the board.

Mr Santokh Singh has been appointed as Adviser on a contract basis with his headquarters at Amritsar on similar terms as Dr Chawla. He has been assigned the job of site selection for the nuclear power plant and will be provided vehicle and accommodation by the board while on tour. Mr M.R. Goyal has been appointed Consulting Engineer on contract at Gurgaon and has been assigned the job of scrutiny of hydel schemes with water power studies. He will also be responsible for negotiating projects and will give advice on specific post commissioning design problems.

Mr R.C. Bansal has been hired on contract for defending the board cases in the Supreme Court as well as the high courts in Shimla and Jammu and Kashmir. Some other contractual appointments have been done at the Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Station as well as at other projects.

Board officials disclosed that Mr Sekhon had been appointed Deputy Director, Coordination, so that he may look into the aspect of liaison with various state agencies and also assist in reviewing various cases pending with the government. They said Mr Badungar had not been shown any undue favour as he had been deputed to the new post in his own pay scale. As regards the other contractual appointments, they said most of them were need-based and had been made with the objective of economising by recruiting people as and when required for specialised tasks.