JAYA KANDWAL Vs. KHUSHIRAM KANDWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The marriage between the parties to the appeal was solemnized on 25th May, 1994, in accordance with the Hindu rites and rituals. At the time of marriage, the husband was employed as officer in Oriental Bank of Commerce at Delhi and the appellant wife had a qualification of M.A.,B.Ed. It was further a case that at the time of marriage, the wife was teaching and had an independent source of earning. Initially, the matrimony carried on reasonably well but, subsequently, according to the wife, the husband started raising allegations to constitute cruelty that wife alleged she does not like Garhwali and coupled with the fact that since she normally converses in English, it was not readily acceptable feature by the family of husband which constituted to be one of the grounds for dissolution of marriage. Husband further contended that wife has a habit of leading independent life.

(2.) These two grounds which has been developed by the husband that the wife alleges that she does not like Garhwali and she normally speaks in English is not a ground which is provided under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act rather to the contrary if a partner who is qualified, speaks a language, other than verna-cular, it shows her competence to sustain the family in a better way in the present set of circumstances which is the requirement of present era. However, on these two isolated grounds, when the petition came up for consideration before the Court, the wife filed her written statement, accepting the pleadings partly raised in the plaint and denying the rest of the part alleging thereof, that having a knowledge of English, if it is giving a sense of deprivation to the husband, and if he is feeling complexed, he has to blame himself and it will not tantamount to be a cruelty for seeking dissolution of marriage, more particularly, when it is not a ground provided under Section 13 of the Act, nor any rationale person would accept it to constitute cruelty.

(3.) Even otherwise also the Hon'ble Apex Court has laid down that the ambit of Section 13, for the grant of dissolution of marriage, cannot widen beyond the scope of Section 13 itself. Section 13 of the Act deals with the various elements, under which, the marriage could be dissolved, for example, adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion of religion or becoming of an unsound mindset. Section 13 does not provide for dissolution of marriage on vague grounds taking it to be cruelty.