Divorced woman can’t be evicted from home:SC

A woman cannot be evicted from the matrimonial home after divorce except through procedure established by law, as there is no provision for her automatic eviction, the Supreme Court has ruled. A bench of justice GS Singhvi and justice SD Mukhopadhyay, in a judgment, said though a woman may not have a legal right to continue in the house of the ex-husband, yet the latter cannot forcibly evict her.

The court gave the ruling while upholding an appeal filed by Ranjit Kaur challenging the decisions of the Punjab and Haryana HC which had upheld her eviction from the house of a disputed property upon a decree of divorce granted to the husband Major Harmohinder Singh, an army officer.

“...even though in the decree of divorce, the appellant has not been given a right of residence and her occupation of the suit property can be treated as unauthorised, respondent No 1 (Singh) cannot evict her except after following the procedure established by law.

“The material placed on record shows that the appellant had entered into the property as the wife of respondent No. 1.

Therefore, even though, after passing of the decree of the divorce she may not have a legal right to continue to remain in possession of the suit property, respondent No. 1 cannot be given liberty to forcibly evict her,” the bench said.

The apex court, however, rejected the plea of the woman that Singh should be restrained from alienating the suit property (house).

The couple was staying at the disputed property in SAS Nagar, Mohali. They were married in 1978. A decree of divorce was granted on October 4, 2001, in favour of the husband who had filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, for dissolution of marriage on the ground of cruelty.

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Can OCD a ground for divorce?

Meena  a welleducated woman, married to Raju an executive with a multinational company in 1997. The couple has an 11-year-old daughter. Meena looks like a healthy and happy person. But her husband and daughter have experiences otherwise. Raju has moved the family court seeking divorce from Meena saying she's suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a mental illness or a psychiatric disorder.

Raju, in his plea, has contended that in the initial years of marriage he noticed that Meena had a habit of doing certain things repetitively. "She will either keep washing her hands or repeatedly check if the main door is closed. I used to ignore it, but her behaviour became more obsessive after our daughter was born in 2000. Once she started going to school, Meena used to doubt if she really goes to school or not; she does her homework or not. She used to punish the child for petty reasons," states Raju.

But a family court has raised this pertinent question that can the OCD a ground for divorce. Last week, when Raju's petition came up for hearing, the judge posed some questions: "Is this illness incurable? Show how will it affect your matrimonial prospects?" The court also questioned if a person suffering from OCD can live a normal life. "What if her illness is cured after divorce is granted?" asked the judge.

Raju's lawyer argued: "He waited for two years after finding out that she is suffering from OCD. She hasn't shown any improvement to treatment for over ten years now. Even the child is getting affected because of the mother's behaviour."

The plea, which was filed in 2001, said Meena's symptoms aggravated from 2000, after the birth of their daughter. She was treated in two hospitals and also one in the United Kingdom but hasn't shown any improvement. She is now staying with her parents in Kerala and is under treatment.

Meena's lawyer countered that his client is responding to treatment and the illness is curable. "Just because a mother is giving some minor punishment to the child, can she be called mentally ill? Or can it be a ground to seek divorce?" he asked.


A prominent women lawyer said: "The law generally says that some incurable disease can be a ground for divorce. But the case should be supported by medical reports which say that the disorder or the illness is incurable in nature. There are chances that certain illnesses which are incurable today can be cured tomorrow with the help of advanced medical facilities. The judgment in a case should be passed on the present status of the case and not on its future prospects."

A professor of psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences ( Nimhans), had this to say: "Diagnosis cannot answer all questions. A good proportion of these patients show much improvement and we say they are cured." He explained that in a similar proportion, response to treatment would be satisfactory thus enabling a person to perform most of the essential roles. "However a small proportion would be disabled even after considerable treatment and the disability of performing matrimonial duties can vary from case to case," he added.


A family court,while hearing the case last week, asked if obsessive compulsive disorder could be a ground for seeking divorce. "Is this illness incurable? Show how will it affect your matrimonial prospects? What if her illness is cured after divorce is granted?" asked the judge.

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