PUSHPA RANI Vs. KRISHAN LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent Kishan Lal led a petition against his wife Pushpa Rani for dissolution of their marriage under section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act The husband alleged that they were married on March 10, 1974 and were living in the house of, and along with the family of, Hans Raj Juneja and his wife Bindra Devi whom the husband treated as his parents. He further alleged that the wife used to pick up quarrels with him and threatend to involve him in some criminal case. On July 28, 1976 at about 10.30 a.m. while he was in the bath room, she tried to commit suicide by pouring kerosene oil on herself and setting herself to fire in the kitchen. On hearing her shrisks, he rushed to her rescue. He and Smt. Bindra Devi removed her to hospital, where she was looked after by Junejas. Moved by her entreaties, he agreed not to report the ture facts to the police, lor the sake of matrimonial happiness. But she resumed threatening him with dire consequences, and declared that she would not live with him. He was. therefore, forced to leave her at the house of her parents on September 4, 1976. Since then she did not return to her matrimonial home.

(2.) On July 4. 1977 she filed an application under section 125, Criminal Procedure Code . for maintenance alleging inter alia that the husband all the time danced attendance en Bindra Devi and bought presents for her and carried her to places of entertainment. In his reply of October 18, 1977 the husband charged that her brother used to visit her secretly and used to be closed with her for long intervals giving rise to the suspicion that she was having some extra-marital relations with him.

(3.) The husband made the present petition on January 10, 1979 seeking divorce on the ground both of cruelty and desertion.