London, Feb 4 (IANS) A judge in Britain has declared invalid the marriage of a man who had brain damage from two head injuries, saying he was not capable of understanding the meaning of a lifelong commitment.
The decision was taken by the Court of Protection, a body which makes decisions and appoints deputies to act on behalf of people who are unable to make decisions about their personal health, finance or welfare, the Daily Mail reported.
The court ruled that the man "did not have the capacity freely to decide to enter into a marriage".
The judge said the registrar who conducted the ceremony in November 2010 believed the groom knew what he was doing.
Shortly before the wedding, the man wrote to his mother telling her of his love for his former childhood flame.
But his fiancee did not pass the letter on, as she was worried his family would not approve.
She also pretended she was taking him from his neuro-disability unit to a museum, when they were actually going to the registrar office.
In February 2011, she took her husband from his placement to live with her. A week later, the authorities went to court to have him returned.
A week before the wedding, the man had an operation and was judged capable of signing his own consent form for the anaesthetist.
The judge described the man as having a "deceptive social veneer and ability to copy with straightforward conversations", but could not remember his spouse or their marital status except for extremely short periods of time.
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