HAJARILAL Vs. CHANDRAKALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPLICANT (appellant) has directed this appeal against the judgment and the decree dated 30. 8. 2000 passed by IIIrd ADJ, Ujjain in Civil Suit, No. 78a /95, thereby dismissing the petition filed on behalf of the appellant for grant of divorce against the respondent under the provisions of Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

(2.) THE facts of the case in brief are that the appellant has filed a petition before the Trial Court against the respondent for grant of a decree of divorce oh the ground of desertion and cruel behaviour of the respondent under the provisions of Section 13 (1) (i-a) and 13 (1) (i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act. On service of notice of the respondent, she opposed the application on various grounds. On behalf of the respondent the objection with regard to the jurisdiction of the Trial Court was also raised. The learned Trial Court, on the pleadings of the parties, framed issues and recorded the evidence of both the parties. The learned Trial Court, by the impugned order, dismissed the application filed on behalf of the appellant and recorded findings on all the issues, framed in the case. Aggrieved by the impugned judgment of the Trial Court, the appellant has filed this appeal.

(3.) THE only contention of the learned Counsel for appellant is that the Trial Court has recorded a finding on Issue No. 5 with regard to the jurisdiction of the Court in favour of the respondent. As such, when the Trial Court records a finding on Issue No. 5 that the Court has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the application filed on behalf of the appellant, the Trial Court should not have recorded the findings on other issues and should not have dismissed the application filed on behalf of the appellant for grant of decree of divorce. The legal and the proper course available to the Trial Court was to return the plaint (original petition) to the applicant (appellant) for presentation to the proper Court under the provisions of Order 7, Rule 10 of the C. P. C