Allahabad High Court directed for constitution of a team of doctors by the CMO within a period of one week from the date of certified copy of this order is served on the said authority.
Allahabad High Court: In an appeal filed by the wife under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, challenging an order from the Family Court that granted the husband’s request for a medical examination of the wife in divorce proceedings, a division bench comprising Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh, JJ. upheld the order, which called for expert opinion on the wife’s mental health during the evidence stage.
The wife contended that the order was entirely erroneous, as a similar application had previously been directed by the Trial Court on 29-01-2024 to be considered only at the stage of final disposal. Since the case was still in the evidence phase and had not yet reached final disposal, she argued that the current order was premature. Additionally, she expressed concern that the observations made by the Trial Court in the impugned order could lead to adverse inferences at the final disposal stage. She also argued that, in any case, a proper medical board should have been constituted by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Hathras.
The Court observed that the Trial Court had sought a report from Aligarh Muslim University, which is not a government institution and therefore may not have been the appropriate first choice.
Consequently, the Court recommended that in legal proceedings, reports should primarily be obtained from a medical board constituted by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The CMO should appoint suitable doctors to the board, including qualified neurologists and psychiatrists, along with any other specialists needed to conduct the necessary assessment.
The Court noted that although the Trial Court had previously issued an order to address a similar application at the stage of final disposal, that order was interlocutory. Moreover, the issue of the wife’s mental health necessitates expert evidence before any conclusions can be drawn.
The Court further stated that the Trial Court did not err in seeking medical opinion during the evidence stage. Since the evidence from both parties has already been presented, the Trial Court acted correctly in requesting an expert opinion at this point.
The Court also observed that the medical opinion requested by the Trial Court could be provided by a medical board constituted by the CMO. The board should include experts from the fields of neurology, psychiatry, general medicine, and any other specialists the CMO deems necessary to fully comply with the impugned order challenged in the appeal.
The Court ordered the CMO to form the medical team within one week from the date a certified copy of this order is provided to the authority. The wife was instructed to appear before the team of experts on the date and time communicated to her by the CMO.
The CMO was further directed to submit the medical report to the Trial Court no later than 30-09-2024.