R.VIJAYALAKSHMI Vs. K.P.ARUN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The civil miscellaneous second appeal is directed against the Judgment and Decree, dated 11.10.2006, passed in C.M.A.No.25 of 2005, on the file of the District Court, Karur, reversing the Judgment and Decree, dated 08.04.2005, passed in H.M.O.P.No.97 of 2003, on the file of the Subordinate Court, Karur.

(2.) The parties are referred to as per the rankings in the Trial Court for the sake of convenience.

(3.) The petitioner filed a petition, under Sections 5(i) and 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter, referred to as "the Act "). Shorn of unnecessary details, the case of the petitioner is that the respondent is his second wife and the marriage between them was solemnized during the month of August, 1992 and after the marriage, they had been leading the marital life and out of the wedlock, two sons were born to them. The petitioner had married one Kasthuri as his first wife, in the year 1982 and the said marriage had been solemnized as per the caste, custom and rituals of the community of the parties and thereafter, the petitioner and the abovesaid Kasthuri had been leading the marital life as the husband and wife and out of the wedlock, two children were born to them and while the abovesaid marriage was subsisting between the petitioner and Kasthuri, the petitioner had developed intimacy with the respondent and accordingly, on the compulsion putforth by the respondent that he should marry her, despite the subsistence of his marriage with Kasthuri, left with no other alternative, according to the petitioner, he had married the respondent and also leading the marital life with her, however, after the marriage, the respondent had exposed her true mind by showing her behaviour in a rude, cruel and rough manner and thereby, prevented the petitioner from meeting his first wife Kasthuri and the children born to them and also insisted that the petitioner should put an end to the marital life with Kasthuri and in the meanwhile, Kasthuri had also levied a petition, in M.C.No.19 of 1992,against the petitioner, on the file of the Judicial Magistrate Court No.II, Karur, claiming maintenance to her and children and as per the compulsion exercised by the respondent seeking annulment of the marriage with Kasthuri, the petitioner had preferred a petition, in H.M.O.P.No. 80 of 1994, against his first wife Kasthuri and the said petition was allowed on 10.11.1994, however, the fact remains that the marriage of the petitioner with respondent took place when the marriage of the petitioner with Kasthuri was subsisting, therefore, according to the petitioner, the marriage between him and the respondent is null and void and even after divorce from his first wife, the respondent did not carry on the marital life with the petitioner peacefully and on the other hand, started abusing and threatening the petitioner and directed him to include her name as his wife in the official records and also forced and coerced him to buy properties in her name and handover the monies and jewels to her and the respondent's attitude had developed to such an extent that she had even started assaulting the petitioner and resultantly, the petitioner was forced to lodge a Police complaint against the respondent and inasmuch as the respondent had not chosen to mend her ways and her intention was only to grab the monies and properties belonging to the petitioner and therefore, according to the petitioner, the continuance of the marital life with the respondent has become impossible and inasmuch as the petitioner had married the respondent during the subsistence of his marriage with his first wife Kasthuri, the marriage held between the petitioner and the respondent is null and void in the eyes of law as per Sections 5(i) and 11 of the Act and there is no collusion between the petitioner and the respondent in filing the petition and hence, the petition.