Unfounded Allegations Of Mental Illness Against Wife Amount To Cruelty, Violate Dignity & Privacy: Madras High Court

While refusing to grant divorce to a husband who claimed to have suffered mental cruelty due to his wife's alleged undisclosed Schizophrenia condition, the Madras High Court held that making such unfounded allegations regarding the mental health of the wife not just amounts to cruelty but is an intrusion into the wife's privacy and personal autonomy. [2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 271] “Portraying the wife as mentally unsound and disseminating defamatory allegations has the effect of impairing her dignity. Unfounded allegations, particularly relating to mental health, not only amount to cruelty but also constitute an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy and personal autonomy of the spouse,” the court said. The bench of Justice Anand Venkatesh and Justice KK Ramakrishnan held that making reckless and humiliating allegations against a spouse, touching upon mental illness or emotional instability, instead of extending emotional support, would deeply wound the dignity, self-worth, and emotional well-being of the spouse. “Therefore, to cast reckless, unfounded, or humiliating allegations upon one's spouse, particularly allegations touching upon mental illness or emotional instability, instead of extending emotional support, understanding, and compassionate companionship, may deeply wound the dignity, self-worth, and emotional well-being of the other spouse. Therefore, when emotional difficulties arise within marriage, understanding and empathy are regarded as more conducive to emotional healing than humiliation, suspicion, or accusation,” the court added. The court was hearing an appeal filed by the husband against the order of the Family Court rejecting his plea for divorce and allowing the wife's plea for restitution of conjugal rights. As per the facts, the marriage between the parties took place on July 27, 2018, according to Hindu rites and customs. Following the marriage, the parties were residing together in Mumbai, where the husband was employed. According to the husband, after conceiving, when the wife was medically examined, it came to light that she was suffering from schizophrenia and was undergoing treatment for it for a considerable period of time even before marriage. The husband contended that this fact was deliberately suppressed by the wife and her family, thus vitiating his consent for marriage. The husband also argued that the wife exhibited abnormal behaviour, making their marital life complicated. Thus, the husband had sought divorce on the ground of cruelty. The wife, on the other hand, denied that she was suffering from Schizophrenia. The wife submitted that the couple were living harmoniously after marriage and had even gone on a honeymoon trip. She submitted that the matrimonial discord arose only after the husband's parents and sister began to reside with them. The wife also argued that she was subjected to physical and mental cruelty at the hands of husband and his family. The wife further submitted that the husband had even compelled the wife to undergo abortion when she was 7 months pregnant. The court noted that even as per the husband's evidence, there were no abnormal conduct or behavioural issued by the wife after the marriage and the first indication of alleged mental health issue arose only after the wife's pregnancy was confirmed. The court also noted that though several doctors were examined on husband's side, none of them had furnished any final diagnosis establishing schizophrenia. The court thus concluded that the husband had miserably failed to prove that the wife was suffering from Schizophrenia. The court emphasised that the husband had merely produced prescriptions, which would not establish Schizophrenia without supporting records. The court noted that the prescriptions were ot exclusively meant for schizophrenia and appeared to be an attempt to dissolve the marriage. “A mere production of prescriptions, without supporting clinical records or diagnostic materials, cannot by itself establish schizophrenia. Significantly, the prescriptions themselves disclose that several medicines prescribed therein were not exclusively meant for schizophrenia. While assessing evidence , this Court finds that these documents do not arise from a natural course of events. On the contrary, they appear to be products of a premeditated attempt to dissolve the marriage,” the court said. The court thus concluded that the attempts made by the husband to depict the wife as mentally ill was not bona fide but only a calculated exercise to fabricate evidence for the purpose of breaking the matrimonial bond. Noting that such attempt itself was mental cruelty, the court found no merits in the submissions made by the husband. Though the husband also claimed that the parties had been living separately for a long time and that the marriage had irretrievably broken down, the court noted that the long separation was...

Unfounded Allegations Of Mental Illness Against Wife Amount To Cruelty, Violate Dignity & Privacy: Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

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Unfounded Allegations Of Mental Illness Against Wife Amount To Cruelty, Violate Dignity & Privacy: Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

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