VIRUPAXI Vs. SAROJINI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is the husband's appeal on his failure to get a decree of annulment of the marriage with respondent 1 (his wife) inter alia on the ground that she committed adultery which was witnessed by the husband himself on 6-9-1972 and on the ground that the first respondent, his wife, had deserted him for over a period of seven years.

(2.) In Miscellaneous Case No. 3 of 1980 in the Court of the Civil Judge at Athani, the petitioner pleaded that on his return from his shop to his house at a time he found respondents cohabiting sexually and seeing him they got up; he rebuked them. He rebuked and told her not to continue her adulterous life in furture. Thereafter the petitioner was shocked and he took meticulous care to refrain from having sexual intercourse with his wife. He further alleged that even thereafter the first respondent had her menstrual periods regularly up to 11-3-1973. However she gave birth to a male child on 18-12-1973. He therefore pleaded that the child born in December 1973 was not fathered by him. It was claimed by him that the said child was the progeny of the first respondent by her illicit relationship with the second respondent. On 7-4-1973, he alleged that respondents were once again caught redhanded while being together, were locked up inside the room where they were found and were physically assaulted or battered by the first respondent's relatives and others. It was only thereafter on 18-12-1973 the second child was born to the first respondent. Finally, he alleged that the first respondent left the home of the petitioner once and for all to her parent's house at Athani during March, 1973 with the requisite animus or intention to desert the petitioner. In the meanwhile, the second respondent had left for Sindagi in 1975. He, therefore, claimed divorce. It is useful at this stage to mention that the petition itself was filed in the year 1980.

(3.) First respondent entered appearance and admitted her marriage to the petitioner. She denied all allegations. She in turn alleged, she gave birth to the child at private maternity home at Athani and second child was also born at the same maternity home on 8-12-1973. Until then for relationship with the petitioner was cordial. It was however claimed that she was subjected to mental agony by the petitioner and was subjected to physical assaults also. She pleaded that petitioner's sister by name Anusuya was throughout residing in the petitioner's house and his father by name Shivappa, an aged person being physically weak, used to mostly confine himself to the house. The said Ansuya, her sister-in-law, was living with them though she was married. She gave detailed description of the families living in the neighbourhood of the petitioner's house. She denied that she deserted the petitioner during 1973. She alleged that she was eased out of the house by the petitioner in collusion with his sister with the ulterior motive of marrying another girl. She denied any knowledge of the second respondent, who she stated, was a married person having four children. She also denied the second respondent having a tea shop on the main road of Athani and living in the house of one Neelgangavva Hanji as alleged by the petitioner.