SUKHAMA DEVI Vs. NIRANJAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts giving rise to this Letters Patent Appeal against the judgment and decree dated 25th May 1981 of a Single Judge of this Court (passed in F.A.O. No. 43/80) may be briefly stated as under.

(2.) The Marriage of the appellant Smt. Sukhma Devi with respondent No. 1 Shri Niranjan Singh was solemnised on 26th June 1972 in accordance with Hindu rites and ceremonies, both the parties being Jat by caste and she was taken to her Matrimonial home on the next following morning. In December 1978 the husband moved an application for dissolution of the marriage by a decree of divorce on the grounds of (a) desertion, (b) cruelty, and (c) adultery. It was averred by him that the appellant left the matrimonial home on the very evening of 27th June 1972 without any just cause or reasonable excuse and as such there could be no consummation of marriage. She did not return to her matrimonial home uptil the filing of the petition for divorce although he waited for her return all these years and even the negotiations made by him through relatives and friends in this behalf did not fructify. He contended that after his marriage he came to know that the appellant had been living in adultery with respondent No. 2 who is none other than the husband of her real sister Smt. Jai Kaur. On suspecting the conjugal fidelity of the appellant he visited the house of respondent No. 2 and came to know that she was living there with respondent No. 2 and likewise she had been living there even before her marriage with him. He alluded to the following facts in order to substantiate his allegations.

(3.) The defence taken by the appellant succinctly is that she stayed in her matrimonial home for three days and enjoyed the society of respondent No. 1. Thus, the marriage was duly consummated. Thereafter she went to her parental home on a customary visit called 'Phera' with the consent of respondent No. 1 and as per custom obtaining amongst them the latter was required to bring her back to the matrimonial home within a year. However, he failed to do so. All the same, he had been meeting her off and on at Laxmi Bai College and they had been moving about at various places including restaurants and enjoying the society of each other. Since he did not turn up to take her back to the matrimonial home, her father, her uncle Ram Kumar, her brother Vijender Singh and her cousin brother etc. called a Panchayat at village Sultanpur (to which respondent No. 1 belongs) two or three days prior to 26th June 1973. However, respondent No. 1 did not attend the Panchayat and refused to take her back unless a sum of Rs. 10,000.00 as demanded by him was given by her father. She vehemently denied having any promiscuous relations with her brother-in-law, viz., respondent No. 2, and asserted that she was selected as a Bus Conductor on merits. She pointed out that other members of her family, namely, her sister and her sister-in law (brother's wife) were too employed as Lady Bus Conductor in the Delhi Transport Corporation and respondent No. 2 had nothing to do with their appointment as such as he was just a Bus Conductor himself. As for her admission to Laxmi Bai College, she admitted that she had declared her caste as Banjara but explained that it was with a view to get admission to the College and this had happened a year before her marriage with respondent No. 1. She then studied in the said College for three years. As regards her description in the service record in the Delhi Transport Corporation, she explained that she did not give herself out as 'Miss' but simply mentioned her name 'Sukhma Devi' without indicating whether she was a married woman or not.