RAJ KUMAR Vs. SAROJ BALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is by the husband who has remained unsuccessful in obtaining a decree of divorce against the respondent-wife. The parties to the litigation were married on March 4, 1976 at Ambala. At that time he was posted at Girl Nagar Project in Himachal Pradesh. The respondent gave birth to a male child on October 26, 1976, at Chandigarh where she was posted as a Music Teacher in those days. The decree was sought on the grounds of desertion and cruelty and in support of the same, the following facts, as noticed by the lower Court, were pleaded in the petition under section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act (for short, the Act):-

(2.) Besides controverting all the above noted factual allegations, the respondent has pleaded that all through she has been behaving as a dutiful wife towards the appellant and was willing to live with him as his wife. As already indicated the trial Court has found most of the facts as asserted by the petitioner to be not established and, to my mind, rightly. The following brief analysis of the statement of the appellant himself as P.W.1 is enough to non-suit him on the pleas taken by him :

(3.) Equally frivolous is his story about the misbehaviour of the respondent towards the aunt of the appellant and it is so completely exposed by her own statement as P. W. 3. It has been admitted by her in no uncertain terms that while leaving the house of the respondent in Chandigarh for the last time for village Thumber, that is, village of the appellant, she did till the respondent that she would return after a few days. In the face of this statement the story of misbehaviour towards her and her being turned out by the respondent completely stands smashed.