Is refusal to undergo medical treatment for mental illness a ground for divorce? Supreme Court to decide

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a judgment of the Kerala High Court which had granted divorce on the ground of mental cruelty after the wife refused to get medical treatment for an alleged mental illness [X v. Y]..A Bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Aniruddha Bose issued notice in the appeal against the High Court judgment, returnable in six weeks..The Bench was hearing a special leave petition filed by a wife who categorically denied suffering from paranoid schizophrenia as alleged by her husband.The facts of the case are that the appellant wife and the respondent husband got married in 2001 and two daughters were born out of wedlock. The wife claimed that from the very beginning of her married life, her husband and in-laws used to harass her verbally and allege that she was a mad person. She alleged that in 2009, her husband and his friends had even forcefully admitted her in a mental hospital, where she was given heavy doses of medication and falsely diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. As a result, she left her matrimonial home in 2011..The husband filed a petition praying for divorce on the grounds of unsound mind, desertion and cruelty before the family court.The family court turned down the first two grounds but granted divorce on the ground of cruelty.On appeal, the High Court upheld the family court verdict and held if a spouse refuses to undergo treatment for mental illness, it would amount to cruelty. "Ailment of a spouse cannot be a reason to grant a decree of divorce even if it results in unusual behaviour which is not expected in normal marital life. The Apex Court in Kollam Chandra Sekhar v. Kollam Padma Latha [(2014) 1 SCC 225] opined that divorce cannot be granted merely for the reason of suffering of Schizophrenia. However, in the present case, this Court cannot ignore the fact that the appellant refused to acknowledge having illness......The consequence of refusal to undergo treatment would determine the fate of a normal relationship. If one spouse refuses to acknowledge illness and undergo treatment, and as a result of such refusal, the other spouse is deprived of normal conjugal relationship, that act would amount to cruelty," the High Court said..The petition claimed that the same Bench of the Kerala High Court in another matter between the parties related to the custody of children, refused to acknowledge the claim of the husband that the wife suffered from any mental illness.It was also contended that despite noticing the fact that the wife was admittedly not suffering from any mental disorder, the High Court granted a decree of divorce on the ground that she had refused to acknowledge her alleged mental illness and get treated."The petitioner unequivocally reiterates that that she has never at any point of time, suffered from paranoid schizophrenia or any other mental disease and that the impugned judgement is legally untenable and liable to be set aside," the plea stated..Advocate-on-Record Vipin Nair appeared on behalf of the petitioner along with Advocates PB Suresh, Arindam Gosh, Karthik Jayasankar and Prakash Baghel..[Read order]