CYRIL ROWLAND GIBBS Vs. MRSELLEN MABEL GIBBS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is the petition of Cyril Rowland Gibbs of Allahabad praying that his marriage with Ellen-Mabel Gibbs should be dissolved and that he should have custody of the child. G. D. Thorpe, a Police Inspector of Cawnpore, has peen impleaded as corespondent. The petitioner alleges the adultery of his wife with Thorpe. The petitioner married the respondent on 29 October 1928 in Allahabad, where they have lived ever since. They are domiciled in India, and this Court has jurisdiction to hear the petition. There is one son of the marriage at present aged 3 1/2 years.

(2.) About the beginning of November 1932 the husband and the wife were staying with the mother of the latter in Allahabad. The co-respondent was then on leave, and, being an old friend of the family of the wife, came to reside with them for 2.1/2 months. There is no evidence in this case during this time of any undue familiarity or guilty affection between the respondent and the co-respondent. The only evidence that there is is that the co-respondent used to take Mrs. Gibbs out on his motor-bicycle usually with her own sister and also to dances in the evening. There is nothing in this to establish guilty affection. On 9 January 1933 the petitioner left for Moradabad to stay with some relatives. Shortly afterwards Mrs. Cearns, the mother of the wife, the wife's sister, and a brother, left Allahabad and went to Moradahad. The petitioner says that when he asked why his wife had not come as well he was told that she had gone to Calcutta to learn nursing. He at once left Moradahad and returned to Allahabad. He then discovered that his wife and the co-respondent had left Allahabad and had gone to Cawnpore. He followed to Cawnpore and found them living together in Thorpe's bungalow. No one else was then residing there. He asked his wife to return with him to Allahabad and she refused. Mrs. Gibbs remained at Cawnpore alone in the bungalow with the co- respondent for one week. Mrs, Gibbs sister then came from Moradabad and stayed with them. On 5 February the sister left the bungalow and for another four days Mrs. Gibbs and Thorpe were alone together. The sister returned and this curious party remained living together in Cawnpore until shortly before the hearing of this case.

(3.) Both the respondent and the corespondent have been in the box. Mrs, Gibbs says that she left the house in Allahabad when her mother and sister and brother left, because her husband had not left her any money and had told the co- respondent to look after her. This is unlikely, as the corespondent had no money and had actually borrowed from the petitioner. She saw no harm therefore she says, in going to Cawnpore and staying with the co-respondent alone in his bungalow. She did it deliberately. She further says that they lived in separate rooms at different ends of the bungalow, and she denied adultery. The co- respondent unfortunately tells a different story. He says that Mrs. Cearns left her daughter for one night in Allahabad alone in the house with him because he had to return to duty at Cawnpore the next day and Mrs. Gibbs was to go to Meerut to stay with some friends. He says that Mrs. Cearns told him that as Cawnpore was on the way to Meerut, it would be a good thing if he looked after Mrs. Gibbs as far as Cawnpore. The co-respondent had been on medical leave and was without money. He says that he hoped,, when he got to Cawnpore, to draw leave pay which he thought was due to him,, and that out of this money he would, be able to pay the travelling expenses of Mrs. Gibbs to Meerut. When however he reached Cawnpore, he found that he could get no money, and as. he was new to Cawnpore and knew nobody, there, he could not borrow money to send Mrs. Gipbs on to- Meerut. The only thing left was that he should take Mrs. Gibbs to live with him to his bungalow.