(1.) The present appeal is preferred by the appellant-husband under Sec. 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 against the judgment dtd. 9/1/2018 passed by the learned Family Court, Delhi in HMA No.61514/2016 whereby his petition under Sec. 13(1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as 'HMA') was dismissed.
(2.) The brief facts as narrated by the appellant in the present appeal are that the parties met each other through the sister of the respondent who was his classmate. The respondent was attracted towards appellant and proposed him to get married with her, however, since elder sisters of appellant were unmarried, the appellant held back and did not allow the relationship to develop, however, the respondent was ready to abandon her family and even threatened appellant of suicide. According to appellant, the respondent, between the years 1985 to 1990, regularly wrote letters to him and even visited him at Delhi along with her father. The appellant has claimed that he had completely denied the state of affairs and told the respondent that he was not interested in the marriage, however, due to his long standing relationship with respondent's family as a consequence of his friendship with the respondent's sister, the parties got married on 19/9/1990 in Arya Samaj Mandir, Patna, Bihar.
(3.) The respondent averred that his family was not interested in this marriage, however, a public wedding ceremony on 28/9/1990 at the Constitutional Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi was arranged by them. A child was born out of this wedlock on 6/9/1991.