Allahabad High Court: In an appeal filed by the wife under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, arising from the order passed by the Family Court, wherein the Court has allowed the application filed by the husband seeking medical examination of the wife in divorce proceedings, the division bench of Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh, JJ. upheld the impugned order calling for expert opinion on the wife’s mental health at the stage of evidence.
The wife argued that the impugned order is wholly erroneous as on a similar application filed earlier, the Trial Court vide its order dated 29-01-2024 directed such application to be dealt with at the stage of final disposal. Thus, at present, only evidence has been led and the stage of final disposal of the case has not been reached. Further, the observations made by the Trial Court in the impugned order, it is submitted that if allowed to stand, they may lead to adverse inference being drawn at the stage of final disposal of the case. The wife also submitted that in any case, a proper medical board should have been constituted by the Chief Medical Officer, Hathras (‘CMO’).
The Court said that the Trial Court has called for the report from the Aligarh Muslim University. That institute not being a government facility, it may not have been engaged first.
Thus, the Court suggested that in Court proceedings primarily the report may be called of a medical board, to be constituted by the CMO who may have nominated appropriate doctors on the board including qualified Neurologist/s and Psychiatrist/s along with such other doctor as may be necessary to make the required assessment.
The Court said that though earlier the Trial Court had made an order providing for disposal of the similar application at the stage of final disposal of the case, yet that was an interlocutory order. Further, the issue of the mental health of the wife would require expert evidence to be led to reach any finding in that regard.
The Court said that to that extent, the Trial Court has not erred in calling for the medical opinion at the stage of evidence. At present, evidence of the parties is over. Thus, the Trial Court has correctly called for the ‘expert opinion’ at that stage.
The Court observed that the medical opinion called for by the Trial Court may be furnished by the medical board to be constituted by the CMO who may constitute appropriate team of experts from departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and General Medicine and such other doctor/expert as he may deem fit, to give full effect to the impugned order impugned in the appeal.
The Court directed that such team to be constituted by the CMO within a period of one week from the date of certified copy of this order is served on the said authority. The wife was directed to be present before that team of experts on the date and time to be communicated to her by the CMO.
The CMO was directed to submit the medical report before the Trial Court not later than 30-09-2024.
[Pooja Gautam v. Neeraj Gautam, 2024 SCC OnLine All 5237, decided on 10-09-2024]
