DAWN HENDERSON Vs. D HENDERSON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a reference under Section 10 of the Indian Divorce Act, by the learned district Judge of Tiruchirapalli, for confirmation of the decree nisi dissolving the marriage between the parties under Section 17 of the same Act.

(2.) THE petitioner is the wife, and she has put forward, as the ground for dissolution of the marriage, the Clause of Section 10 which refers to "adultery coupled with such cruelty as without adultery would have entitled her to a divorce a mensa et thoro. " In the body of the petition, the petitioner states that the respondent, her husband, married her, according to Christian rites, at St. Joseph's Church Golden Rock, tiruchirapalli on 27-5-1961. But soon after the marriage, the respondent behaved to her with great cruelty, and brought drunken young men to the house and attempted to constrain or induce the petitioner to submit to the indecent overtures of those men. He also beat her and starved her, and in brief, attempted to compel her to lead a life of prostitution. Because she resented this and resisted the attempts with all might, the respondent forced her to leave the house in September 1961, and she has since been living with her parents. In paragraph 10 the petitioner also states that the respondent was leading an adulterous immoral life, visiting brothels and being friendly with prostitutes. According to the petitioner, the respondent is "an incorrigible moral wreck. "

(3.) THE respondent was ex parte throughout The petitioner gave evidence as P. W. 1 broadly in support of the averments in the petition. She swore that the respondent tried his best to coax her to lead the life of a prostitute, and to submit to the indecent overtures of drunken young men brought by him to the house. After the petitioner was driven away, the respondent is, according to her leading a bad, immoral life, consorting with lewd women. P. W. 1 has been supported by P. W. 2, P. W. 3 and P. W. 4, all of whom have given testimony in the matter. P. W. 2 is the father of the petitioner, and, he also speaks to the cruelty of the respondent towards the petitioner and to the subsequent profligate life led by the respondent. P. W. 3 states that respondent some times made suggestions to him to visit women of bad repute, either at Tiruchira-palli or at a particular street in srigangam town. The respondent knew the addresses of women of bad repute. P. W. 4 gave evidence to much the same effect. That is all the evidence in the case, and the learned District Judge has accepted this evidence and also recorded his satisfaction that there was no collusion between the parties, in making the decree nisi.