Prashant Kumar Mishra, J.

1. The core issue involved in this First Appeal, preferred by the appellant/husband (for brevity 'husband') challenging dismissal of his suit for annulment of marriage, is whether a decree for annulment of marriage under Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') can be allowed on the ground that at the time of and even before marriage the respondent/wife (for brevity 'the wife') was suffering from Schizophrenia, which was concealed from the husband while obtaining his consent for marriage.

2. The parties are Hindus. They were married on 12.12.2009. The suit for annulment of marriage was preferred on 13.09.2010 on the pleading that soon after the marriage the wife was talking strangely, inappropriately and irrelevantly and was always expressing fear of her or husband's death. In course of interaction with wife, the husband became aware that she is suffering from mental disorder and had obtained treatment from some Neurologist of Nagpur. On further enquiry, he found that the wife is suffering from Schizophrenia and her ailment is incurable and the disease is congenital. During her stay with the husband, she was not willing to cohabit or beget the child. On enquiry she informed that she is suffering from Polyceptic Ovarian disease in her uterus. It was specifically pleaded that the wife or her relatives never informed before marriage about the wife's mental disorder. It was further specifically averred that when the husband raised the entire issue with wife's father Shri Arvind Goswami, he admitted to the husband that the material fact was concealed in order to marry his daughter. The husband thus pleaded fraud and misrepresentation while obtaining consent by concealing and misrepresenting the material fact in respect of the wife. His father-in-law wrote a letter on 7.5.2010 admitting all the facts while taking his daughter to Mandla where she is presently residing.

3. The wife denied the fact that she was suffering from Schizophrenia even prior to marriage and she used to talk irrelevant and abnormal things. According to the wife, the husband had met her on 2-3 occasions before marriage and that she has never refused to cohabit or beget the child. She has also denied that her father has admitted in writing about the facts alleged in the complaint. In the later part of the written statement, she states that the said admission of her father was obtained under duress. She has denied that the wife or her parents have committed fraud or misrepresentation in relation to marriage. Contrary to the earlier pleading, the defendant/wife amended the plaint on 17.1.2013 to plead that the husband was informed before marriage that the wife is suffering from Schizophrenia and is obtaining treatment from a doctor at Nagpur and that the disease is not incurable. It was further pleaded that all the papers about her treatment were handed over to the husband even before marriage. She also made allegation about demand of dowry of Rs.10 lakhs with further pleading that when the demand was not fulfilled, she was ill-treated which reflected on her health, therefore, she was taken to Neurologist whose medicines were responsible for dizziness and unconsciousness.

4. The trial Court framed four material issues for determination as to whether the wife was suffering from Schizophrenia even before marriage; whether she was suffering from Polyceptic Ovarian disease of uterus before marriage and whether the said disease of the wife was concealed from the husband before obtaining his consent for marriage and thus the husband was subjected to fraud for obtaining his consent for marriage. The trial Court also framed a question as to whether the husband is entitled for decree of annulment of marriage.

5. On the basis of evidence adduced by the parties, the trial Court found that the wife was suffering from Schizophrenia before marriage and the appellant/husband's consent was obtained by fr