ANITA RANI Vs. SURESH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FEELING aggrieved by the judgment and decree dated 2.11.2006 passed by the Additional District Judge, Rohtak, whereby the petition filed by the respondent -husband under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (in short "the Act") for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce was allowed, the appellant -wife has approached this Court by way of instant appeal.

(2.) PUT shortly, the facts relevant for adjudication of the present appeal as narrated therein may be noticed. The parties are Dental Surgeons and got married on 4.2.1999 at Bahadurgarh according to Hindu rites. After the marriage, the appellant used to provoke the respondent all the times and pressurized him to live separately from the matrimonial home. She left the house on 1.9.1999 and then on 30.10.1999 to her parental house. She was brought back. They were employed at PHC Bhainswal Kalan and Banwasa, situated on two sides of Gohana town. They used to go upto Gohana jointly and part company to go to their respective PHCs. However, the appellant had no talk with the respondent while going upto Gohana. The respondent had met with an accident in February, 2000 and was to take rest for 4 -5 days as he was unable to walk but the appellant had left to her parental house. Further, in March and April, 2000, the mother of the respondent had to undergo an eye operation and was admitted in Jiwan Eye Nursing Home, Rohtak but the appellant did not attend him. Thereafter, the appellant left the matrimonial home on 15.6.2000 without the consent of the respondent and returned back on 30.7.2000. To maintain peace in the family, the respondent separated kitchen. Thereafter, the appellant asked the respondent to break all relations with his parents and other family members. On 1.9.2000, the appellant left the matrimonial home in the absence of the respondent. The respondent along with his father went to the parental house of the appellant and on his repeated requests, she returned back. The appellant filed a petition under Section 9 of the Act for restitution of conjugal rights. A compromise was arrived at between the parties on 2.12.2000 and the said petition was dismissed. She agreed to live peacefully with the respondent but outside the court told that she would come in the matrimonial house after 10 -12 days. However, she did not turn up despite repeated requests and ultimately she told that she had no interest to live with the respondent. Thereafter, the respondent convened panchayats on 24.12.2000 and 28.1.2001 and went to her parental house and after persuading took her back to the matrimonial home. She also agreed in writing that the respondent and his family members never offended her and she gave affidavit. On 13.4.2001, when the respondent went to purchase the newspaper from the market and to get his hair cutting from the barbar and when he returned back, he found the room locked and she did not turn up and went to her parents house and said that she would go directly from Bahadurgarh to PHC Banwasa and the lock had to be broken. She picked up quarrel with the respondent whenever he expressed his sexual desires. On 3.7.2001 and 10.8.2001, the respondent waited for her on the bus stand of Gohana but she did not turn up. When the appellant did not bring the salary continuously for two months, he inquired about the same in November, 2001. She told that she had been giving major part of her salary to her parents who had brought her up. She also started levelling false allegations against the respondent terming him as womanizer and that he had physical relations with the lady staff of the hospital. She was having a grudge from the very beginning qua the meeting of the respondent with his family members. After the marriage on 4.7.2002, on the asking of his father, the respondent asked the appellant to help his father with cash of Rs. 20,000/ - to make the balance payment of various shopkeepers who supplied articles in the marriage, she got furious and started hurling abuses to him and his family members. She also said that his father had been committing theft of railway goods throughout his service career and what was the necessity to take Rs. 20,000/ - from them. The respondent tried to convince the appellant but she continued levelling such type of false allegations and she snatched her Mangal Sutra and broke the same and asked the respondent to sell it in the market and get Rs. 20,000/ -. Then she left the matrimonial house along with her ornaments. Accordingly, the respondent filed a petition under Section 13 of the Act for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce. The said petition was resisted by the appellant by filing a written statement. Besides raising various preliminary objections, it was pleaded that she was harassed for want of dowry and a case was registered against the respondent and his family members under Sections 498 -A/406 of the Indian Penal Code on 4.9.2003. On 13.9.2003, a compromise was arrived at between the parties and they lived separately at Rohtak. The other averments made in the petition were denied and a prayer for dismissal of the same was made. Replication was filed controverting the averments made in the written statement. From the pleadings of the parties, the trial court framed the following issues: -

(3.) THE trial court on appreciation of evidence led by the parties, decided issue No. 1 in favour of the respondent holding that the acts of the appellant in insisting upon the department to initiate action against the respondent and also to prosecute him for demand of dowry show that the marriage had irretrievably been broken and such acts of the appellant amount to cruelty and were sufficient to dissolve marriage between the parties. Accordingly, the trial court vide judgment and decree dated 2.11.2006 allowed the petition and dissolved the marriage between the parties by a decree of divorce. Hence, the present appeal.