ASHA RANI Vs. YASH PAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is wife's appeal against the judgment dated August 3, 1987 passed by learned Additional District Judge, Jalandhar, whereby marriage between the parties was dissolved by a decree of divoree on the grounds of desertion and cruelty.

(2.) THE decree of divorce was passed on a petition filed by the husband-respondent and after returning a finding that the appellant had deserted her husband for a continuous period of more than two years and treated him with cruelty. During the pendency of the appeal in this Court, an application was filed by the wife-appellant, dated September 21, 1987, under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, for grant of maintenance pendente lite and litigation expenses. Notice of this application was given to the husband-respondent, and after hearing learned Counsel for the parties, K. P. Bhandart, J. passed the following order on April 18, 1990 :

(3.) LEARNED Counsel for the appellant contends that since the husband- respondent has failed to pay the maintenance pendente lite and litigation expenses, as ordered by the Court, his defence should be struck off. In support of his contention, the learned Counsel referred to the observations made in Shrimati Swarno Devi v. Shri Piara Ram, 1975 H. L. R. 15, wherein it was held that on the failure of the husband to make payment of the litigation expenses and maintenance pendente lite, his defence deserves to be struck off. In the reported case, the appeal of the wife was allowed solely on the ground that the husband had not paid the litigation expenses and maintenance pendente lite in spite of the orders passed by the Court in that behalf. A similar view has also been taken in Smt. Parkasho v. Lachhman Singh, 1977 H. L. R. 334 and Amarjit Kaur v. Sohan Singh, 1979 P. L. R. 749.