SADAN SINGH Vs. RESHAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a husband's second appeal in a suit for dissolution of his marriage with the respondent, by a decree of divorce and in the alternative for judicial separation.

(2.) The appellant is captain now a major in the army. His case was that the parties were married on 26-4-1959 when he was about 17 years of age and the respondent was only 14. They lived and cohabited together at their village home where they last resided together upto 10-10-1969. The respondent wife is then described as short-tempered who sometimes becomes violent and who is said to use abusive language. She was alleged to be shortstatured and hard of hearing. It was then said that one day the respondent wife hurled a Belen and used to beat his nephews and abused the petitioner's mother as also his brother's wife. This is followed by the complaint that the respondent wife falsely accused the husband of "complicity with his Bhabhi who is about 18 years older than him" and has 8 issues, the eldest of them being 27 years old and whom petitioner "respects like his mother." The husband had to suffer indignity and humiliation before his family and neighbours. His life became Very miserable so that "he became impotent towards her". This is followed by the allegation that "he could not associate with her in the advanced society to which the petitioner belongs as a commissioned officer of Indian army." Lastly' he alleged that the respondent wife collected people, defamed the petitioner and ultimately left the petitioner's house and went to her father's house in or about Febuary 1970 and had not returned to the petitioner thereafter. A son was said to have been born on 12-5-1970, but died ten days thereafter on 22-5-1970. On these facts, the husband alleged that the respondent wife had "deserted the petitioner now for 5 years"; that "she has treated the petitioner with such cruelty as to cause reasonable apprehension in the mind of petitioner that it will be harmful and injurious for the petitioner to live with her"; and that "she had almost disrupted the joint family life of the petitioner with his parents, brother and his sons and has thus caused incalculable mental torture to petitioner". A petition for divorce was said to have been filed by the husband on 11-10-1969 on which an ex parte decree for divorce was passed on 23-4-1970, but was set aside and thereafter the suit was dismissed for default of parties on 14-2-1974. The petitioner Stated that he came to know about it only a few days before from leave (sic).

(3.) Having stated the facts narrated in the petition, I must observe that even if all the facts that the petitioner has stated were accepted at their face, no case, whether of cruelty or desertion, could be said to be made out against the respondent and the petition was liable to the dismissed. Be that as it may, the respondent filed a written statement and the matter went to trial on the following issues :-