K. Ramakrishnan, J.

1. Petitioner husband in O.P. No. 12/2007 on the file of the Family Court, Kalpetta is the appellant herein. The original petition was filed by the husband for annulment of marriage under Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter called the 'Act').

2. It is alleged in the petition that the marriage between the petitioner and the respondent was solemnised on 21st April, 2006 at Vatakara as per custom. It was a second marriage for the respondent and first marriage to the petitioner. Earlier the respondent was married to another person and that marriage did not last for long and that was dissolved through Court by mutual consent later. It is thereafter on the basis of the advertisement made on the side of the respondent in the daily, the petitioner accepted the proposal and marriage was conducted. According to the petitioner, even before the marriage there was an agreement between them that the respondent being the only daughter of a widowed mother, petitioner has to stay in the respondent's house and that was agreed by the petitioner. Though the marriage fixation ceremony was conducted in September 2005, the respondents wanted the marriage to be conducted during April, 2006 and the petitioner was also agreeable for the same. He was under the impression that, the mother of the respondent wanted some time for arrangement of the marriage. After marriage, the respondent lived at the petitioner's house in Wayanad for 15 days. On the very next day of the marriage, the petitioner found that the respondent was behaving strangely and she was not able to look after her own affairs including washing of cloth, cooking of food etc., she was not able to follow the petitioner's words. He had to repeat the same more than one or two times. He was under the impression that the same can be set right in due course of time. After 15 days of their stay, they came to the house of the respondent and started residing there. At that time, he came to know that she was consuming some tablets and she was drowsy throughout the day, she used to sleep in the day time. She was struggled to control sleep. There were abnormal behaviors in the attitude of the respondent. When he enquired about the same with the mother, it was revealed that she was consuming medicine for her mental disorder and she was sleeping and drowsy on account of the consumption of medicine. This shocked the petitioner and he came to understand that the marriage was conducted suppressing this fact of mental illness and she was under the treatment of Doctor Valsala Mannali, M.D., D.P.M., for psychiatric problems from 2001. He also came to understand that she was treated at PVS Hospital on previous occasion by Doctor Meenu Pothen, a Psychiatrist and she had advised that respondent is not capable of being married owing to her mental disorder of acute nature. She was under strong medication from September, 2005 to April, 2006 before marriage. The mother of the respondent had shown the entire treatment records which revealed that she was under continuous treatment for psychiatric problems. The strange behavior of the respondent was also unbearable. She used to suspect the petitioner's misconduct whenever he speaks to her own mother or her neighbours and she was resisting him from doing the same. She used to forget all her assignments and even important matter. On one occasion she had even failed to hand over the letter sent from his house and she handed over the same after a month of receipt of the same, when enquired she told that she had forgotten it. The respondent was in the habit of forgetting everything and suspecting everybody of having immoral character. She was not even allowing the petitioner to mingle with her own mother, his sister or sister-in-law. She had even told that after he started residing there, her mother had started dressing well to lure him. All these things were not expected from a woman of her standard. So it is difficult for him