SAMITI KHANNA Vs. AROON KHANNA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is directed against judgment and decree dated January 8, 1991, of the Additional District Judge; Karnal, allowing respondent's petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' ).

(2.) AROON Khanna respondent married Samiti Khanna appellant on February 13 1974. A male child named Amar was born to the couple within a year of the marriage on December 21, 1974. Aroon Khanna lost his father Vishawanath Khanna when the former was only about 6 years old. Vishwanath Khanna along with his wife Smt. Raj Khanna and two children Aroon and a daughter Sushma was living jointly with his brother Pran Nath Khanna and his wife Shakuntla Khanna. The two brothers Vishawanath Khanna and Pran Nath Khanna were joint in business in equal shares. After the death of Vishwanath Khanna, his widow Smt. Raj Khanna and her two children continued to live jointly with Pran Nath Khanna and his wife. At the time of marriage of Aroon Khanna thus they were living jointly with Pran Nath Khanna and his wife who have no issue of their own. Samiti's elder sister Shashi is married to Smt. Shakuntla Khanna's nephew Jagdish Khullar. In other words Smt. Shakuntla Khanna wife of Pran Nath Khanna is the Bhua of Samiti's elder sister's husband The respondent herein sought dissolution of marriage on the ground of desertion and cruelty. His case was that after a few years of marriage, Samiti started coaxing him to separate from his mother Smt. Raj Khanna, uncle Pran Nath Khanna and aunt Smt. Shakuntla Khanna and start living in a separate house. This was not acceptable to Aroon Khanna, but Samiti refused to see reason and in order to press her demand she first started neglecting the respondent-husband and his close relations and then insulting his aforesaid relations. When he protested against such conduct, she rejected rudely. She also denied sex to him. This conduct caused deep mental torture to him and his said relations Towards the middle of 1986, she started asserting herself by adopting a detiant attitude and exploiting all possible opportunities of insulting and humiliating him and said members of his family. In November 1986 she left the matrimonial home saying that she would not return till the respondent-husband established his own independent house. Efforts for bringing about reconciliation by common friends and relations continued. Ultimately it was decided that the marriage be got dissolved by making an application under Section 13-B of the Act. In pursuance of the above decision, Samiti Khanna appellant-wife accompanied by her elder sister Shashi and her husband Jagdish Khullar besides some other relations came to Karnal on March 17, 1988. A joint petition Exhibit P-l under Section 13-B of the Act was drafted incorporating the terms settled between the parties. According to the settlement, Samiti Khanna was entitled to take away all her jewellery besides personal effects including clothes, fridge swing machine, utensils, silver, furniture, bedding etc as well. The parties had a locker in the State Bank of India, Model Town Branch Karnal, which could be operated upon by the husband and the wife jointly as well as everally. Smt. Samiti Khanna opened the bank lock on March 17 1988, any took away all her jewellery etc. Her personal effects were loaded in a tempo and sent away to Samiti's parental house. Thereafter the parties presented the application under Section 13-B of the Act before the District Judge Karnal. Their statement was recorded by the District Judge and the case was adjourned for six months as statutorily required. Smt. Samiti Khanna left for Ludhiana along with her sister, brother-in-law and other relations by car the same day. Further case of the respondent-husband is that in October 1988, Smt. Samiti Khanna seems to have made up her mind to go back on her compromise. She accordingly moved an a application Exhibit P-4 dated October 11 1988, withdrawing the petition under Section 13-B of the Act, which was pending before the District Judge, Karnal. She also moved another application before the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Ludhiana, for maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on October 18, 1988. In the application made before the District Judge, Karnal, it was stated that she had been a victim of fraud practised by her husband and his relations and, in fact, her signature on the petition had been obtained under threat that unless the signed the petition her life and that of her minor son would be in danger She also sought to retract the various admissions of fact made in the said earlier petition under Section 13-B of the Act. As a result of the said application he petition under Section 13-B of the Act was dismissed by the learned Judge.

(3.) IN the written statement filed by Smt. Samiti Khanna, both the grounds were denied. It was stated that, in fact, Pran Nath Khanna was a man with a very dominating nature. He held control of all the properties and business of the family. He had not allowed Aroon Khanna to grow up and Aroon was always treated like a puppet by him. Aroon's mother i. e. mother-in law of Samiti Khanna was a woman of submissive and docile nature and it was in these circumstances that Samiti advised her husband-Aroon to gain self-confidence and try to develop his own independent personality. It was further stated in the written statement that Pran Nath Khanna and his wife started usurping the properties of Aroon Khanna and his mother. Several properties were got transferred in the individual name of Smt. Shakuntla Khanna and Pran Nath Khanna and Smt. Shakuntla Khanna took control of the cinema business of the family and utilised its income to themselves without giving due share to Aroon's family. When she protested and asked Pran Nath Khanna and Smt Shakuntla Khanna to desist from committing illegalities in the property Smt. business of the family and to give up their illegal design, Pran Nath Khanna and his wife instigated Aroon and acting under their influence, Aroon started declaring that he would get rid of his wife and would remarry. Sometimes he went to the extent of giving beating to Samiti Khanna and compelled her to go away to her parents' house.