CHISTOPHER ANDREW NEELAKANTAN Vs. ANNE NEELAKANTAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a miscellaneous first appeal against an order of the learned District judge, Jodhpur, dated the 2nd December, 1958, under Section 39 of the Special marriage Act, 1954, (No. XLIII of 1954) (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1954) read with Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure in a divorce matter.

(2.) THE petitioner is the husband Chistopher Andrew Neelakantan. His case is that he is a citizen of India and is an officer in the Air Force of the Government of india, and has been holding the post of Wing Commander in the Air Force at jodhpur for the past several years. It is further alleged that the petitioner and the respondent Mrs. Anne Neela-kantan were married in England on the 20th February, 1955, and a copy of the certificate of marriage (Annexure I) is produced in support of this. Among other allegations, which it is unnecessary to mention at this stage, the petitioner's case further was that when he wanted the respondent to come over to india and live as his wife, she flatly refused. Consequently, the petitioner made the present application in the court of the District Judges Jodhpur, on the 1st May, 1958, in which he prayed for a decree for the dissolution of his marriage with the respondent. It may be mentioned at once that the application for divorce is principally based on. the ground of desertion. The learned District Judge has, by his order under appeal, dismissed this application summarily. Hence tne present appeal.

(3.) THE reason which prevailed with the learned District Judge in coming to the conclusion to which he did appears to be that he had no jurisdiction to deal with the matter under Section 31 of the Act of 1954. The relevant portion of Section 31 is in these terms :