NABA KUMAR MONDAL Vs. LILABATI MONDAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This matrimonial appeal is at the instance of the husband and is directed against an order of dismissal of his petition under section 12(1)(c) of the Hundu Marriage Act, passed by Sri T.K. Ghosh, Additional District Judge, 14th Court, South 24 Parganas at Alipore.

(2.) The husband, who happens to be the appellant before this court, filed a petition for annulment of marriage under section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act (herein after referred to as the said Act) upon the ground that the respondent wife had practised fraud upon him. His case is that he got married with respondent No. 1 on 7.5.90 upon negotiation. The husband, before marriage desired to have a bride of fair complextion and must have passed School Final Examination and must be below twenty-one years of age. Matchmaker approached the husband and thereafter marriage was settled between the appellant and respondent No.1 at the intervention of the matchmaker and respondent No. 2 and 3 who are brother and father respectively of the respondent wife. It was represented that wife is a fair complexioned girl of twenty years of age having passed the School Final Examination and so the marriage was settled. The marriage was solemnized on 7.5.90 as per Hindu rites and customs. After the marriage, the parties began to leave together as husband and wife and the husband desired that the wife should get her admitted in Class XI of a school, but the respondent wife was reluctant. When she expressed her unwillingness to proceed her further studies, the husband became suspious and went on pursuing as to whether the wife had actually passed School Final Examination. Subsequently, on a day in July, 1990, the husband asked his wife to recite a Bengali poem, but the wife could not. Thus, further suspicion arose in the mind of the husband and he searched for educational qualification of his wife.

(3.) The respondent wife left the house on 1.8.90 for her parental home in order to bring School Final Certificate and Admit Card, but she could not bring those papers. One Ratan Mondal, a brother-in-law of the wife disclosed that the respondent wife read upto Class X only. Finally, the wife could not produce any Certificate showing her educational qualification and the husband came to know that she was aged twenty-seven years at the time of marriage and so upon these allegations, the husband lodged a petition before the District Judge, South 24 Parganas with a prayer for annulment of the marriage. His further case is that he came to know of the fraud some time in 1993 and thereafter he filed a petition referred to as above.