YESUDAS Vs. PRAMILA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this appeal, the appellant -original petitioner is taking exception to the judgment dated 2.4.2002 passed by the learned Judge, Family Court at Nagpur in Petition No. B -20/1996. By the impugned judgment, the Family Court has dismissed the petition filed by the appellant under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (the said 'Act' for short) for declaring the marriage between the appellant and the respondent as null and void.

(2.) THE brief facts are that the appellant and the respondent were married on 30.6.1985 at Wardha according to the Buddhist rites and customs. The parties resided for sometime at Nagpur. According to the appellant, although there was exchange of garlands by the parties, the respondent is not a legally wedded wife of the appellant, inasmuch as the appellant was previously married to one Anjira Jambhulkar on 11.6.1974 at Salebhata, Tahsil -Sakoli, District -Bhandara and the said marriage was subsisting. Thus the appellant claimed that the marriage between the appellant and the respondent was in contravention of the provisions of Section 5 (1) of the said Act and was null and void. It was contended that although the appellant was married to Anjira Jambhulkar, the appellant had married the respondent on account of the insistence by the friends and relatives.

(3.) THE learned Judge of the Family Court framed as many as six issues. The appellant examined himself apart from Anjira Jambhulkar (PW2) and her father Pandhari Chaitu Tembhurne (PW3) and produced certain documents. The respondent did not lead any oral evidence, however, produced the copies of the judgment and order passed in Regular Civil Suit No. 991/1987 as also the written statement filed by the appellant therein and Misc. Criminal Case No. 88/1987 and the certified copy of the Criminal Revision Application No. 526/1989.