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2026 Supreme(Online)(Tel) 15668

IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD
Moushumi Bhattacharya, Gadi Praveen Kumar, JJ
X – Appellant
Versus
Y – Respondent
CIVIL MISCELLANEOUS APPEAL No.494 OF 2025



Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: S. Nagesh Reddy
For the Respondents: Avinash Desai, P. Vishweswara Nikhil

An order restraining a spouse from access to the other or their residence/workplace in matrimonial proceedings requires a high threshold of justification; conclusions regarding a spouse's psychiatric disorder to support such an injunction cannot be made by the court based on anecdotal behavior without expert medical evidence.

Headnote:(A) The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 - S. 13(1)(ia)(iii) and S. 27 - Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - O. XXXIX R. 1 and 2 and S. 151 - Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 - Interim injunction in matrimonial proceedings - Scope of restraint on personal movement - Findings regarding psychiatric/psychopathic disorder without expert medical evidence - The Court held that an order restraining a spouse from coming near the other spouse or their workplace is unprecedented and requires a high benchmark of justification; merely relying on alleged verbal abuse or behavioral incidents to conclude a party suffers from a 'psychiatric disorder' is impermissible without substantive medical record; such injunctions effectively serve as a pre-trial decree.

Facts of the case:
The appellant (wife) challenged a Trial Court order restraining her from approaching the respondent (husband), his home, or his workplace, pending a divorce petition filed by the husband alleging mental disorder and cruelty. The Trial Court had accepted the husband's contentions regarding the wife's alleged anger management and psychic issues to pass the draconian injunction.

Findings of Court:
The Appellate Court found the impugned order incomprehensible, unsubstantiated by medical evidence, and violative of the rights of the parties. It held that assertions of psychic disorders in matrimonial matters must be backed by expert evidence, and interim restraint orders should not be issued to curtail personal movement based solely on allegations of marital discord.

Issues: Whether the Trial Court erred in granting an ad-interim injunction restraining the wife from moving freely, based on unproven allegations of psychiatric disorder and personal conflicts.

Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that mental disorder must be proven strictly through medical evidence or expert testimony; judicial conjecture regarding personality traits or behavioral issues during pending divorce proceedings is insufficient to warrant a restrictive injunction that effectively determines the outcome of the case without trial.

Result: Appeal allowed.

Table of Content
1. procedural overview of the impugned interim injunction in divorce proceedings. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5)
2. summary of rival contentions regarding marital discord and alleged behavior. (Para 6 , 7)
3. appellate analysis of the trial court's order concerning anecdotal allegations. (Para 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13)
4. requirement for medical evidence to prove mental disorder for restrictive injunctions. (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17)
5. case law precedents regarding matrimonial rights and the limits of injunctive relief. (Para 18 , 19 , 20 , 21)
6. assessment of prior writ court orders and final setting aside of the impugned order. (Para 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28)

JUDGMENT: (Per Hon’ble Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya)

1. The Civil Miscellaneous Appeal has been filed challenging the order dated 08.09.2025 in I.A.No.138 of 2024 in F.C.O.P.No.151 of 2024, whereby the learned Judge, I Additional Family Court-cum-XIV Additional Metropolitan Sessions Court, Hyderabad (‘Trial Court’) allowed an Interlocutory Application under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 read with section 151 of The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (‘CPC’) filed by the respondent-husband for ad interim injunction restraining the appellant-wife coming anywhere near him or to his house and also to his workplace at [REDACTED], during the pendency of FCOP.

2. The appellant herein is the wife and the respondent herein is the husband. The parties are being referred to as ‘wife’ and ‘husband’ for ease of understanding.

3. The respondent husband filed FCOP No.151 of 2024 under section 13(1)(ia)(iii) read with section 27 of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (‘1955 Act’) for dissolution of marriage with the appellant wife on the ground of cruelty i.e., the wife was of unsound mind and suffering from mental disorder. The husband also sought for return of Rs.60,00,000/- paid to the wife and her parents by way of loan.

4. The IA filed by the husband i.e., I.A.No.138 of 2024 was premised on the grounds that the wife had issues with anger management and displayed psychopathic behaviour and hysteria. The husband also stated that the wife made his life miserable through persistent nagging and complaints. The husband relied on several incidents occurring from the time of marriage upto September, 2023 to demonstrate the wife’s anger issues including instances of alleged physical assault.

5. The Trial Court allowed the IA on 08.09.2025 restraining the wife from going near the husband, his house or his work place during the pendency of the Divorce Petition/FCOP No.151 of 2024. The reason given by the Trial Court in allowing the IA was that the wife suffers from mental disorder and behaves abnormally in front of the husband’s family members. We will deal with the reasons assigned by the Trial Court for granting the said relief in greater detail in later paragraphs of this judgment.

6. Learned counsel for the wife submits that the Trial Court erred in giving undue importance to daily incidents as alleged by the husband and concluding that the wife was suffering from a mental disorder. Counsel also argues that the Trial Court arrived at certain findings without any medical records to corroborate such findings. It is also submitted that the impugned order defeats the intent of the order passed by a Single Judge of this Court on 04.11.2024 in W.P.No.28492 of 2024. Counsel further submits that the Trial Court failed to give weightage to the evidence relied upon by the wife.

7. Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the husband stresses on the fact of the parties lived together as a married couple only for a short duration of 13 months. Senior Counsel places certain incidents, including that of 25.05.2023 and 11.10.2024 to contend that the wife exhibited extreme aggression and uncontrollable rage. Senior counsel further submits that the wife left the matrimonial home on 06.11.2024 pursuant to the order of the learned Single Judge dated 04.11.2024 and that the husband’s family members were also draw

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