Husband challenged the Family Court's refusal to appoint expert doctors to medically examine the wife in maintenance proceedings, after their marriage was annulled. The High Court upheld the refusal, holding such examination irrelevant to maintenance and violative of her personal liberty.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
NC: 2024:KHC:15678 WP No. 7210 of 2024
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 18TH DAY OF APRIL, 2024
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE LALITHA KANNEGANTI WRIT PETITION NO. 7210 OF 2024 (GM-FC)
BETWEEN:
SRI. SIDDALINGAKUMAR S/O REVANNASIDDAPPA, AGED ABOUT 45 YEARS, R/AT 2ND CROSS, 5TH CROSS, SRINAGAR, KYATHASANDRA TUMAKURU- 572 104
…PETITIONER
(BY SRI. DHARSHAVARDHAN B G., ADVOCATE)
AND:
Digitally signed by SUVARNA T Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
SMT.C.R.YAMUNA W/O SIDDALINGAKUMAR, D/O RENUKAPPA, AGED ABOUT 35 YEARS, R/AT ‘RENUKA NILAYA’, THRIVENI ROAD, OPP: SSIT, SARASWATHIPURAM TUMAKURU -572 105
…RESPONDENT
THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO CALL FOR RECORDS IN CL.MIS.NO.311/2013, ON THE FILE OF THE PRL. JUDGE, FAMILY COURT, TUMAKURU SET ASIDE THE ORDER DATED:22.11.2023 VIDE ANNEXURE-L THEREIN AND ALLOW THE APPLICATIONS IA NOS.6 AND 7 FILED BY THE PETITIONER AS PRAYED FOR, TO MEET THE ENDS OF JUSTICE.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMARY HEARING, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
NC: 2024:KHC:15678 WP No. 7210 of 2024
ORDER
Aggrieved by the order in I.A.No.6 and 7 in
Crl.Misc.No.311/2013 dated 22.10.2023 by the Prl. Judge, Family Court, Tumakuru, the husband is before this court. The parties are referred to as husband and wife for the sake of convenience.
husband has filed MC.No.324/2013 under Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act for declaring the marriage as null and void, as the wife is suffering from physical deformity and she is incapable of having a relationship where the marriage could not be consummated. It is his case that wife had treated the husband with cruelty. The said petition was contested by the wife where she has denied the allegations and with regard to physical deformity, she has taken a stand that the marriage is consummated. The trial court had decreed the M.C.No.324/2013 declaring that the marriage as null and void.
NC: 2024:KHC:15678 WP No. 7210 of 2024
MFA.No.455/2018 (FC). The same came to be dismissed by order dated 10.07.2023. The appeal was not preferred against the order passed in MFA.No.455/2018.
the husband has filed the I.A.No.6 and 7 under Order 26 Rule 10(A) R/w Section 151 CPC to appoint an expert doctor from specialized hospital as Court Commissioner to
draw the blood sample of the wife in the presence of presiding officer and send the same to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad to verify whether she is genetically female or not and report the same along with photos and video graphical evidence. I.A.No.7 is filed
praying an order to appoint group of expert doctors from specialized hospitals as a Court Commissioner to test and verify the petitioner is having normal female genetic organs or not and whether she is physically female and phonologically fit for normal sexual intercourse in the presence of him and his doctor and report the same to the court. The court below by order impugned had dismissed the two I.As observing that husband has filed MC to declare the marriage as null and void and obtained the decree and in that he himself got examined RW2/Dr.Mahalakshmi who has medically examined the wife. He has also examined Dr. Ashok Kumar Devoor. The court
below has referred to the Judgment passed in MFA.No.455/2018(FC) wherein the appeal filed by the wife is dismissed. In the said order, the court has observed that the husband himself has examined RW-2/Dr. Mahalakshmi who has medically examined the wife. When the marriage is already declared as null and void, only question to be considered is whether after declaration of marriage as null and void, whether the wife is entitled for
maintenance or not. Under these circumstances, the court
has held that there is no need for medical examination of the wife as sought by the husband and further the court observed that under these circumstances, again and again driving the wife to undergo medical examination regarding her status of female, definitely amounts to violation of personal life and liberty guaranteed under article 21 of the Constitution of India and also causes humiliation to her, since she is already been examined by the doctor and accordingly dismissed the appeal.
NC: 2024:KHC:15678 WP No. 7210 of 2024
and prejudice that would be caused to the husband if the
application is not allowed by the court.
petitioner, perused the entire material on record. The undisputed facts of this case are that basing on MC.No.324/2013 filed by the husband, the court below passed the judgment and decree dated 04.11.2017 declaring the marriage as null and void. The grounds that petitioner is taking are not the new grounds and during the pendency of the MC proceedings he has examined some of the doctors and Dr. Mahalakshmi who was examined as PW-2 and also marked Ex.P.10. Whatever the grounds the petitioner is taking now, it was always open to him to raise these grounds. No such application
was filed during the pendency of the petition. The court below had rightly observed that at this point of time, when
the marriage between the parties is declared as null and void, in this application what remains to be adjudicated is whether in a case where marriage is declared as null and
NC: 2024:KHC:15678 WP No. 7210 of 2024
void, whether the wife is entitled for maintenance or not.
All these aspects which the husband wants to prove in this case are not relevant factors for the court to consider while granting the maintenance.
SD/JUDGE
TS List No.: 1 Sl No.: 33
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the husband's applications for court-commissioner medical and genetic examination of the wife should be allowed in the pending maintenance proceedings after the marriage was declared null and
3 provisions across 3 enactments
Sri. Siddalingakumar S/o Revannasiddappa
Smt. C.R. Yamuna W/o Siddalingakumar
Lalitha Kanneganti
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
