UMA TALAPATRA Vs. MANABENDRA TALAPATRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE insant appeal is directed against judgement dated 11. 6. 97 passed in Mat. Suit No. 20/95 by the Judge, Family Court calcutta, whereby the matrimonial suit was decreed and the marriage between the parties was dissolved by a decree of divorce. Being aggrieved by such judgement, the wife has filed the present appeal.

(2.) THE husband Manabendra Talapatra filed the petition under section 27 of the Special Marriage Act for a decree of divorce and that suit was registered as Mat. Suit No. 101/1993 in the City Civil Court, Calcutta. The said suit was later on transferred to the Family Court and was re-numbered as indicated above.

(3.) IN his petition, the husband alleged that both the petitioner and the respondent were employees of L. I. C. of India and they developed intimacy, fell in love, although the respondent was physically handicapped lady being polio stricken from her childhood, decided to marry, and when their decision was accepted by their respective parents and family members, the petitioner married the respondent under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The said marriage was duly consumated and a girl child by the name of Monideepa was born to the parties on 19th June, 1985. It was alleged that a week after the said marriage very strange aspect of the respondent of character become evident to the petitioner when he found that the respondent began to doubt, and disbelieve even innocuous statements of the petitioner and made him swear as to the truth in very minor matters. After some days the wife began to cast aspersions on the petitioner alleging that he was involved in the affairs with female members of their office and went to the extent of alleging that the petitioner had illicit connection with the maid servant of the house who had been sent to work there by the wife's father's family. It was further alleged the respondent/wife also showed traits of saddism in her character and was short tempered and used to misbehave with the petitioner. It was further alleged that since the marriage, the respondent wife treated the petitioner with cruelty in the following manner : as soon as the parties were alone in the room, wife used to prick the husband with all trivial incidents that took place in the office and at the house and each reference culminated in the petitioners being held respondible liable for the same. In every incident, the wife could see a 'plot' against her. In the fits of anger, the wife often threatened to commit suicide which created tremendous mental pressure on the husband. The accusations with regard to the husband dealings with his female colleagues in the office reached such a stage that the husband had to voluntarily take transfer from the branch where he was working to another branch which was quite far away from his residence. It was further alleged that the respondent was a lady of uncontrollable temper and she had been suffering intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the husband could not reasonably be expected to live with her. It was also alleged that in one occasion when the wife/respondent lost her temper brother Sekhar mukherjee happened to be present in the house of the petitioner and the said brother got beaten up and received a severe verbal lashing from the respondent for trying to pacify her. Ultimately, the petitioner/husband being unable to bear the atrocities any further requested the father of the respondent/wife to come to his house and to take the respondent with him and to keep her at his residence till she would behave in a gentle manner. The respondent's father came to the petitioner's residence on 1st June, 1992 and the respondent left with him to reside in his residence. It is further alleged that even after that the respondent/wife on the plea of seeing her daughter used to visit the house, on many occasions, and invariably on those occasions used to pick up quarrels with the petitioner's family members. During one of such visits in December, 1992 she became very agitated and abused the petitioner and the members of his family in most filthy language. It is further alleged that in the early hours of the morning about 2. 15 hrs. of 22. 2. 93, the petitioner and his cousin Indranil Talapatra were arrested from the residence by the police in connection with G. R. Case No. 408 of 93 filed against the petitioner/husband and members of his family under section 498a/406/120b of IPC prosecution was launched at the instance of the wife/ respondent. The child of the parties was taken away from the custody of the husband/petitioner by the respondent/wife in with connection, that case. The husband/petitioner and his cousin were produced before the Court of additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Calcutta and on the submission of the respondent/wife that she had got custody of the daughter, the Court granted bail to the petitioner and his cousin. Subsequently, the respondent/ wife withdrew the case. In this way, it is alleged that the petitioner/ husband was further humiliated. In these facts and circumstances of the case, the husband/petitioner prayed for a decree of divorce on the ground that after the solemnization of marriage, the respondent/wife treated the husband/ petitioner with cruelty both mental and physical.