DEEPTI BHANDARI Vs. NITIN BHANDARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner and the Respondent No. 1 were married to each other according to Hindu rites at Jaipur in the State of Rajasthan on 20th February, 2007. A girl child, Mannat, was born prematurely to the couple on 3rd April, 2008, and had to be kept in incubator for about three weeks. It is the Petitioners grievance that while they were on their honeymoon in Mauritius, the Respondent No. 1, husband, began to treat her with physical and mental cruelty. Even during her pregnancy, she was ill-treated. Ultimately, being unable to withstand the physical and mental cruelty inflicted both on the Petitioner and her minor daughter, the Petitioner was compelled to leave the matrimonial home and return to her parents on 7th October, 2008.

(2.) On 6th December, 2008, the Respondent No. 1, husband, filed an application under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Case No. 609 of 2008) against the Petitioner, for restitution of conjugal rights. Unable to bear the shock of the incidents, which had taken place since the Petitioners marriage with the Respondent No. 1, the Petitioners grandparents suffered heart and paralytic attacks, as a result of which they have become completely bed-ridden. According to the Petitioner, on account of the cruelty meted out to her and the child, the Petitioner filed FIR No. 7 of 2009 complaining of offences alleged to have been committed by the Respondent No. 1 punishable under Sections 498A and 406 IPC.

(3.) It is the Petitioners further case that in order to settle the matter peacefully, the Petitioner entered into a compromise with the Respondent No. 1 on 25th February, 2009, so that she could start her life all over again and to acquire financial independence to provide for herself and for providing proper care to the child on her own. Pursuant to the terms of the compromise, the Petitioner withdrew her complaint under Sections 498A and 406 Indian Penal Code, but the Respondent No. 1 failed to appear before the Family Court No. 2 at Jaipur on 2nd December, 2010, to present a Petition for mutual divorce, as had been agreed upon in the compromise.