SHAMLA DEVI Vs. SURJIT SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant, hereinafter referred to as the 'wife' has preferred this appeal against the judgment passed by Shri Janeshwar Goel, District Judge, Una District Una the Court below has dismissed the petition of the wife filed by her against the respondent (hereinafter referred to as the husband) for annulment of her marriage by a decree of nullity on the ground that the marriage between the parties has not been consummated, owing to the impotence of the husband as per Section 12(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the Act).

(2.) Facts which are not in dispute are that the marriage between the parties was solemnised on 30-11-1992 at Village Katohar Kalan, Tehsil Amb, District Una and the parties lived together up to 12-12-1993 at Village Bhanjal, the native village of the husband. Case of the wife further as pleaded before the trial Court was that the husband refused to cohabit upon wife and showed his ignorance and asked her to sleep. This was the position when she was at the house of the husband at Village Bhanjal on 3-12-1993 when they were given a double bed for sleeping when the husband did not approach the wife, after waiting for sometime when the wife tried to remove the quilt from the husband, he declined to cohabit and further on one pretext or the other, the husband was not ready to perform the marital relationship with the wife. It was in these circumstances that the petition was filed.

(3.) This petition was contested and resisted by the husband who while denying the averments made by the wife, pleaded that she left his house on 10-12-1993 in the company of her brother. It was also specifically pleaded that he is potent and had sexual intercourse with the wife during her stay and at no point of time she ever complained either to his sister or sister-in-law (Jathani). It was further pleaded by the husband that the husband of the elder sister of the wife did not like this marriage and this was an attempt on his part to break the marriage of the parties and the marriage was stated to have been consummated and while leaving the house of the husband the wife had taken all the ornaments and clothes to her own house.