SATYA DEVI Vs. AJAIB SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a wife's appeal against the judgment and decree of the learned District judge. Ganganagar dated 31-1-1968 granting conjugal rights to the husband and directing that the wife snail return and live with the husband.

(2.) THE parties were a young couple. They were married according to the Sikh rites on 5-10-1962 at Chak 16, P. S. Tehsil Raisinghnagar. A son was born on 1-7-1964 to the parties. The petitioning husband averred that the wife had gone to see her parents on 28-12-1965, but had thereafter never returned to him. According to him. he went to fetch the wife in the first week of February, 1966. but she refused to come with him without any reasonable excuse. The wife contested the application. She denied that her husband had come to take her away. She pleaded cruelty on his part. According to her. the husband was a drunkard and was not faithful to the wife. He had told her several times that he was not satisfied with her and would marry another girl. The husband wanted the wife's consent for this, but she was not agreeable to the husband taking another wife. It was for this reason that the husband started maltreating the wife. The wife alleged that the husband had on diverse occasions, between November. 1963 and January. 1964 beaten her and treated her with such cruelty as to cause a reasonable apprehension in her mind that it would be injurious for her to live with the husband. She proceeded to say that in January, 1964 the husband had forcibly sent, her away to her father's home in Chak 16 P. S. She therefore, remained at her father's house for one year. Thereafter on persuasion of certain Panchas the husband took the wife to his own house, but he again started maltreating her. The husband was alleged to have beaten her several times between July, 1965 and november. 1965. Then the husband sent her back to her father's house and since then she had been residing there. The learned District Judge framed the following two Issues :-- (1) Is the petitioner guilty of cruelty towards the respondent as alleged by her in her written statement? (2) To what relief is she entitled?

(3.) THE wife examined herself as D. W. 1 and produced D. W. 2 Pritam Singh and d, W. 3 Bidar Singh in support of her version. In rebuttal the husband examined himself.