RESHMA RANI Vs. DEVINDER KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petition for divorce filed by the husband on the grounds of cruelty and desertion had been allowed. The wife being aggrieved by the judgment is in appeal.

(2.) The grounds of divorce alleged were that the wife was guilty of cruelty in pestering her husband for setting up a separate house and living away from the parents of her husband. The further grounds urged were that the wife had been giving false complaints to the police against the husband and she had thus created mental cruelty to her husband. It was further contended that the marriage had taken place on 24.10.1987 but she had lived with the husband only for 1-1/2 years, after which, she had gone to her parents' house. A child had been born out of the wedlock but ever since the time, she left the house after marriage on 20.03.1989, she had never resumed the company. The wife denied all the allegations and contended that she had gone for confinement to her mother's house and after the birth of the child, the husband never took her back to his house. Refuting the contentions made by the husband that she had abandoned the house taking all gold ornaments and cash, she contended that such allegation was false and it was vindicated by the fact that she had filed a civil suit for return of her movables and the Civil Court had also granted a decree for the value of the movables. The wife complained that her husband was trying to take advantage of his own wrong and the grounds urged for divorce were not true.

(3.) In the course of trial, it was elicited that the wife had actually lodged a complaint against the husband at Mansa and proceeding had been initiated under Section 107 read with Section 151 of Cr. P.C. There appears to have been proceedings initiated by the wife for maintenance under Section 125 Cr. P.C. also against the order passed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate at Mansa. A revision had been filed to the Additional Session Judge seeking for enhancement of maintenance. During the proceedings under Section 125 Cr. P.C, the Magistrate had obtained a report from the DSP, Mansa and there had been some facts elicited that the wife was "mischievous and quarrelsome". The Additional Sessions Judge found that she was not entitled to any maintenance but, since that the husband himself had not challenged the original order of maintenance, he merely dismissed the criminal revision.