MUSAMMAT KHURSHEDI BEGAM Vs. KHURSHED ALI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of a suit for the restitution of conjugal rights instituted by the plaintiff Khurshed Ali, against his wife, Khurahedi Begam, and her father Hashmat Ali. His case is that he was married to Khurshedi Begam in August 1907 and lived with her at her house in Kasha Hapur for some months. He then left for Indore in search of service which he obtained in the Police Department of the Indore State. He Teturned back to Hapur about a year ago. It appears that the plaintiff has no property or income of any kind nor has he a house of his own. On the other hand his wife Khurshedi Begam owns property said to be worth about Rs. 20,000 which she has inherited from her maternal grandfather and from her former husband. The wife is about twenty years in age and the plaintiff is a few years older.

(2.) On his return to Hapur plaintiff began to live with the defendant at her father s house but after residence for a few months. at his father-in-law s place he seems to have persuaded his wife to come over to live with him at a house taken on rent where the plaintiff s father also resided. He there seems to have persuaded his wife to execute a power-of-attorney in his favour to enable him to manage her property. So far the couple seem to have lived in amity and happiness, but ill- feelings and discord, arising, no doubt, out of the plaintiff s desire to appropriate his wife s property soon began to manifest themselves. Acting under the authority of the power, of-attorney the plaintiff disposed of a grove belonging to her without her consent. He tried to sell another property of the wife notwithstanding her remonstrances, and according to the defendant he began to abuse and ill-treat her on her refusing to consent to the sale. The relations between them became so strained that she was compelled to fly from her husband s house and seek refuge at her father s. The plaintiff threatened violence to her and to her father and the result was that on 2nd June 1911 Mr. Pearson, Magistrate of Meerut, ordered the husband to furnish security for keeping peace, to prevent him from committing acts of violence against the wife or her father. The plaintiff had on his part filed this suit for the restitution of conjugal rights on 8th February 1911. The defence among other grounds urged that the plaintiff had divorced his wife and in any case until the payment of a sum of Rs. 5,000, due to her on account of her prompt dower, the plaintiff was not entitled to a decree for the restitution of conjugal rights. Babu Sushil Chunder Banerji, who tried the suit in the first instance, found on both these pleas for the defendant and dismissed the suit. His decree on both these points was set aside on appeal by M. Mubarak Husaim, Khan Bahadur, Additional Judge of Meerut, on 22nd April 1912, and the case remanded for the trial of the following issue in the case as formulated by him, viz.: Has the plaintiff been treating the defendant No. 1 cruelly? Is he entitled by law to the recovery of his wife unconditionally, or subject to any condition.

(3.) The case then came up for hearing before B. Sumer Chand, Munsif, (who had succeeded B. Sushil Chunder Barerji) who found for the plaintiff and decreed the claim. The defendant, Mummmat Khurshedi Begam, appealed against the said decree. The appeal was heard by M. Mubarak Husain, Khan Bahadur, who has decreed the claim for. the restitution of conjugal rights subject to the condition that he (the husband) will not remove her, unless she herself agrees to that, from her own house in which she lives at present. Nor will, he interfere with her father living with her if so desired by her." His judgment concludes with an order that; The defendants are hereby enjoined to allow the plaintiff to live with and exercise all the conjugal rights with defendant No. 1 wherever she lives."