MS. UJJWAL SARHAWAT Vs. RAVEE SARHAWAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Lt. Col. Ravee Sehrawat filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act (for short 'the Act') against his wife Ujjwal Sehrawat seeking divorce on the grounds of desertion and cruelty. Learned Additional District Judge, Chandigarh, by judgment and decree dated January 9, 1991, dissolved the marrige between the parties by a decree of divorce by accepting the ground of cruelty alleged by the husband. During the course of this judgment, petitioner-husband shall be referred to as the respondent whereas Ms. Ujjwal Sehrawat, wife as the appellant.

(2.) Marriage between the parties was soleminsed according to Hindu rites and ceremonies at Chandigarh on July 11, 1970. The appellant gave birth to a female child on May 9, 1979. The respondent in his petition under Section 13 of the Act detailed places of his posting and period of stay at each station. All the allegations of cruelty enumerated in the said petition have been detailed in the judgment under appeal. Broadly speaking, the parties to the marriage were not pulling on well right from the beginning. Respondent filed a divorce petition on the ground of desertion at Chandigarh. The petition was dismissed because of the representation of the appellant. Thereafter they resided together as husband and wife at Ranchi during the period May 1986 to July, 1986. The appellant left Ranchi in July, 1986 when the respondent was still posted there. The appellant failed to join the respondent and this forced the respondent to file this petition seeking divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. This petition was filed on December 20, 1986 at Ranchi. On notice of this petition, the appellant moved the Supreme Court for transfer of the divorce petition from the Court at Ranchi to a Court of competent Jurisdiction at Chandigarh. The Supreme Court by order dated October 20, 1987 transferred the matrimonial petition from the file of Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi to the file of the District Judge, Chandigarh with the direction that District Judge, Chandigarh shall dispose of the case himself or may transfer it to any other competent Court in Chandigarh for disposal, with a further direction to dispose it of expeditiously. The first date in the case at Chandigarh was November 26, 1987 and the written statement to the divorce petition was filed by the appellant-wife on January 23, 1989. The respondent closed his evidence after examining 14 witnesses, on March 15, 1990. The appellant was thereafter afforded opportunity for her evidence but her evidence was closed by order dated November 20, 1990 after her counsel made a statement in Court that he did not want to lead any evidence.

(3.) Learned Additional District Judge, Chandigarh, as noticed above, by judgment and decree dated January 9, 1991 allowed the petition and dissolved the marriage between the parties by a decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty. This is how, the present appeal came to be filed by the appellant-wife.