GANESAN Vs. MADHESWARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The order granting maintenance of Rs. 300/- to the first respondent, wife and Rs. 200/- each to the second the third respondents, the children from the date of application i.e. from 7-3-1994 passed in M.C. No. 4 of 1994 on the file of Judicial Magistrate, Thuraiyar is challenged by the husband, the petitioner herein in this revision before this Court.

(2.) The facts are the following:-The first respondent married the petitioner on 6-3-1985 in the presence of elders in the Sivan koil at Kubbampatti. Out of the said wedlock the second respondent was born on 20-3-1986. Ex. P1 is the birth register. The third respondent was born on 22-6-1988. The birth register is Ex. P2. Though initially they lived happily, the petitioner began to harass the wife asking her to get money and jewels from her parents' house. Since the said unlawful demand was not complied with, the respondents were beaten and driven away from the matrimonial home. Six months prior to this application claiming maintenance she gave a complaint to the Women Dowry Wing at Trichy regarding the harassment of the petitioner and requested the police to arrange for reunion. However, during the police enquiry, the petitioner/husband refused to take her despite the advice given by elders as well as by the police. According to the wife, the petitioner is working as a Tanker lorry driver earning about Rupees 3000/- per month besides owning properties of seven acres belonging to his father. On this basis she claimed maintenance of Rs. 500/- for herself and Rs. 400/- for the children each. In order to prove her case, she filed Exs. P1 and P2, the birth registers of the children Exs. P.3 and P.4 voters' list. The evidence of PW-1 was corroborated by the evidence of her uncle PW-2, Muthusamy and independent witness PW-3, Palaniappan.

(3.) On the side of the petitioner, the petitioner examined himself as R.W. 1 and two other witnesses. The plea of the husband is that he never married the first respondent and that the children were not born to him and that factually she was kept as a concubine by his uncle Ramasamy and only out of that connection the two children were born.