Punjab-Haryana High Court
Jatinder Kumar vs Jeewan Lata on 28 February, 2014
Author: Rajive Bhalla
Bench: Rajive Bhalla
F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -1-
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012.
Decided on:-February 28, 2014.
Jatinder Kumar. .........Appellant.
Versus
Jeewan Lata. .........Respondent.
CORAM: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajive Bhalla
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dr. Bharat Bhushan Parsoon.
*****
Argued by:- Mr. Vivek Thakur, Advocate
for the appellant.
Mr. Anil Kumar Garg, Advocate
for the respondent.
Dr. Bharat Bhushan Parsoon, J.
This appeal is by appellant-husband Jatinder Kumar (hereinafter mentioned as the husband) against impugned judgment and decree dated 14.8.2012 passed by Additional District Judge, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar vide which the petition preferred by him under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter mentioned as the Act), for dissolution of his marriage with respondent-wife Mrs. Jeewan Lata (hereinafter mentioned as the wife) on the ground of cruelty and desertion, was dismissed.
2. Marriage between the parties had taken place as per Hindu rites and ceremonies at Morinda, District Ropar on 22.6.2003. The marriage was consummated but no child was born out of this wedlock. The marriage had Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -2- encountered in rough weather.
3. Claiming that the wife was ill-mannered and vulgar, the husband alleged cruelty from her and claimed that she had lodged a false complaint with the police at Ropar against him which was not entertained. It was also averred that the parties to the litigation were working as teachers in different government schools. For convenience of his wife, the husband and his parents had shifted to Ropar in October, 2004. The wife used to travel to attend her duties from Ropar to Nawanshahar, whereas the husband was posted in Government Senior Secondary School, Kariha and was required to travel a much longer distance. He tried to make the wife comfortable.
4. It was further alleged by the husband that on 25.2.2005 while travelling in a bus, he met with an accident resulting in serious injuries whereafter he was rushed to PGI, Chandigarh and he remained under medical treatment from 25.2.2005 to 1.3.2005. Thereafter, he was hospitalized at CMC, Ludhiana and had undergone plastic surgery. He then started residing at Nawanshahar.
5. It is claimed that the wife never looked after him and rather used to threaten him of police intervention and had even tried to procure his signatures on certain documents under duress. He even filed a suit for injunction against the wife and her family members at Ropar, which later was compromised. The wife had joined him at Nawanshahar but had later left in October, 2005 on the pretext of meeting her parents but thereafter, she did not return. The wife used to insult the husband even during school hours in presence of his students and the staff by uttering derogatory words that the husband was having illicit relations with his own mother.
6. When the wife did not join the company of the husband, he had filed a petition under Section 9 of the Act which was later withdrawn by him. It is further alleged that even with the passage of time, the wife did not Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -3- change and cruelty from her to her husband increased day by day when she had even been holding out threats to him and using utterly filthy language beyond tolerance. Thus, on the grounds of cruelty and desertion, a decree of divorce was sought by the husband.
7. The wife, contesting the claim of the husband, denied all the allegations levelled against her, by asserting, that she had always been respectful and decent to him as also to his family members. Controverting the allegations of the husband, it was, interalia, pleaded that the petition under Section 9 of the Act was filed by the husband merely to create evidence for divorce. Explaining the real cause of dispute between them, the wife disclosed that that the husband had been asking her to resign from her job, to which she did not agree. The husband wanted to purchase a house at Nawanshahar to settle and wanted her parents to give him financial support, for which they agreed as she had no objection to shifting to Nawanshahar but she did not want to resign from the job. It was further mentioned by her that notwithstanding her continuance in the job, she had been conducting herself as a dutiful wife even during the period of hospitalization of the husband and thereafter, she had been serving him dutifully. She had been running from pillar to post to make her husband comfortable and had never left the matrimonial home. It is further explained that even brothers of the husband were not supporting him in his wrongs towards her and had appeared before the police in her favour in a complaint case which had been preferred by the husband against her.
8. It was further explained by the wife that when both of them were living in a house taken at Ropar, the husband withdrew from her company and did not reside there resulting in extra financial burden on her as she used to pay house rent of Rs.3,000/- per month which was enhanced by the landlord every year. In short, it is claimed that the husband wanted to take benefit of his own wrongs. It is further claimed by the wife that she had Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -4- no dispute in residing with the husband and she explained that even her belongings including clothes were lying in the rented accommodation at Ropar. Dismissal of the petition had been sought by her.
9. In replication, earlier assertions made by the husband were reiterated. After considering rival claims of the parties, following issues were framed by the lower court for adjudication:
"1. Whether the respondent has treated the petitioner with cruelty? OPP
2. Whether the respondent has deserted the petitioner without any reasonable cause for the last two years immediately preceding the filing of the present petition? OPP
3. Whether the petitioner is barred from filing the present petition? OPP
4. Relief."
10. The husband had sought divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. To sustain these grounds, he, in addition to himself appearing as PW1, had examined Prem Kumar as PW2. He also tendered affidavit of his mother Smt. Darshana Devi but she never stepped into the witness box to face cross-examination. On the other hand, the wife entered the witness box as RW1 and has examined her brother Kamaljit Sharma as RW2.
11. After examining evidence of the parties, the lower court has recorded to a firm finding against the husband that neither the ground of cruelty nor of desertion had been proved.
12. The husband has sought reversal of the impugned judgment and decree, claiming, that the wife had not only been vulgar and cruel towards him and his family members but had also been harsh and intolerable to him as she did not attend to him when he had met with a motor vehicle accident. It is claimed that the wife had been levelling false allegations against the Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -5- husband that he was having illicit relations with his mother and had also been treating him with cruelty in the school destroying his image among his colleagues and students. It is further argued that the wife had deserted and neglected the husband without any reasonable or plausible cause. It is asserted that despite genuine requests made by him, she had been arrogantly refusing to join the matrimonial home.
13. Praying for reversal of the findings on issues No.1 to 3, seeking acceptance of the petition, a decree of divorce has been prayed for. It is canvassed that the impugned judgment and decree suffer from inherent defects as the same did not take into account the factual matrix in the real context and had ignored the aspect that the wife had been levelling false allegations against the husband only to defame and humiliate him and his parents. It is asserted that the fault for destroying the marriage, squarely was upon the wife.
14. Stand of the wife, on the other hand, is that she was teased and taunted and was also humiliated and belittled. It is canvassed that she was beaten up and maltreated, and then was shunted out of the matrimonial home whereas no effort was made by the husband to restore her back to the matrimonial home though she had been making sincere and genuine efforts to ensure a conducing atmosphere in the matrimonial home. It is urged that she is keenly looking forward to smoothen the atmosphere in the matrimonial home. Prayer for dismissal of the appeal was made.
15. We have heard counsel for the parties while going through the paper book.
16. Marriage between the parties took place on 22.6.2003 at village Morinda, District Ropar is not questioned. Before marriage, the wife was serving as a teacher in Government Elementary School, Hansron, Tehsil Nawanshar. As per the husband, to make her comfortable, he and his parents Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -6- had shifted to Ropar where they had then continued to reside. As he had shifted to Ropar whereas he was employed as a teacher in Government Senior Secondary School, Kariha, he used to travel by bus from Ropar to Nawanshahar to reach the school. While travelling in a bus on 25.2.2005, he had met with an accident in the area of Police Station, Asron and had received multiple injuries for treatment of which he was shifted in PGI, Chandigarh where he remained hospitalised from 25.2.2005 to 1.3.2005 and then remained under treatment of CMC, Ludhiana where he had undergone plastic surgery. Thereafter, he started residing at Nawanshahar.
17. Plea of the husband that he was never cared for by the wife during his ailment, stood refuted by unassailed testimony of the wife (RW1) and her brother Kamaljeet Sharma (RW2). She has also produced two receipts Mark-2 and Mark-3 showing that the husband was being looked after by the wife and her family members including her brother. She had given detailed version of all such events and is sustained and supported by her brother. Moreover, after the accident, the husband had withdrawn from the house (which had been taken on rent at Ropar) leaving the wife to fend for herself and then she had been paying exhorbitant rent of the house through her nose.
18. Version of the husband that he had been neglected by the wife and was looked after by his family members is sweeping and general and has been sufficiently dislodged by the statement of the wife and her brother as RW1 and RW2 respectively.
19. It is important to note that no member of the family of the husband has entered into the witness box to support him on material aspects. The husband had not examined any witness from the locality of Ropar where the parties lived together after the marriage. The only witness examined by him is Prem Kumar (PW2), who is his friend and thus, was supposed to depose in his favour; even otherwise, he has no personal or intimate Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -7- knowledge or information about the affairs about which he had made his deposition. He is neither a resident of the neighbourhood of the husband nor is in any way intimately connected to the events happening in the matrimonial life of the parties. When statement of Prem Kumar PW is appraised closely, it clearly transpires that it is a case of friendly support to the husband lent by his friend Prem Kumar PW. It is abundantly clear that he has neither visited Ropar where the couple was residing nor had any intimate knowledge or information about the matrimonial relationship between the parties. Though the affidavit of Smt. Darshana Devi (mother of the husband) had been placed on record as PW3/A but she was never brought in the witness box to suffer cross-examination and thus her statement made on affidavit without her cross-examination, is of no legal significance and thus is to be taken off his evidence.
20. Claim of the husband that the wife used to utter derogatory words against him that he was having illicit relations with his mother remains completely unsubstantiated. His plea that the wife had insulted him during the school hours in the presence of students and staff of Government Senior Second School, Kariha by making such allegations, also remains uncorroborated. Neither any fellow teacher nor any student of the husband from the said school has entered the witness box in support of claim of the husband whereas there is assertion of the wife that she had never made any such allegation and had never been to the said school much less that she had insulted the husband there.
21. The husband has made very serious allegations against the wife but remained very casual in substantiating the same. It must have been a painful affair for the wife to have such allegations attributed to her by none else than her husband that "he was having illicit relations with his mother", whereas there is definite stand of the wife that she had never made any such allegations against him. Thus, plea of the husband that he was constantly Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -8- insulted by his wife remains unsubstantiated.
22. Stand of the husband is that the wife had been making false and baseless allegations against him and had made one such complaint to the Deputy Commissioner, Nawanshahar but no such complaint allegedly preferred by the wife, had been got produced by the husband and such wild allegation made in the air by the husband does not go against the wife. Rather, it is to be inferred against the husband as he had been making unsubstantiated, irresponsible and wild allegations against the wife.
23. Even filing of the petition under Section 9 of the Act by the husband was not a genuine and bonafide affair but was merely a step for creating evidence for a divorce. It was got dismissed in default. Had it been a genuine step taken by the husband for restitution of conjugal rights, he was to prosecute the same with zeal. Absence of commitment and concern in prosecuting this cause sufficiently reveals that there was no genuine intention of the husband to rehabitate the wife in the matrimonial home and he, in fact, was creating evidence for seeking dissolution of marriage by way of a decree of divorce. In fact, the husband has not been able to produce any evidence to show that the wife had been a nagging one or had not been ready and willing to live in the matrimonial house with him.
24. Conduct of the husband in filing a suit for seeking a decree of permanent injunction is also not without evil designs. Even when the petition for divorce was taken up in the Lok Adalat and was being pursued, no genuine interest was shown by the petitioner-husband to settle the matter amicably for ensuring a conducive atmosphere to run this marriage smoothly. The husband had even moved an application to S.S.P., Nawanshahar whereas the wife had made no complaint to the police or to any other authority much less for prosecution of the husband under Section 498-A and 406 IPC.
Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document F.A.O. No.M-246 of 2012 -9-25. Looking from all angles, in the light of the facts and evidence on record, it is clear that the husband has failed to prove that the wife has ever treated him with cruelty or has deserted him much less without any reasonable cause.
26. Sequelly, findings of the learned lower court returned on issues No.1 to 3 being correct in law and on facts, are upheld. Consequently, affirming the impugned judgment and decree, the appeal, being without any merit, is dismissed. Decree sheet be prepared accordingly.
(Dr. Bharat Bhushan Parsoon) Judge (Rajive Bhalla) Judge February 28, 2014 'Yag Dutt'
1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes
2. Whether to be referred to the Reporters or not? Yes
3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Yes Yag Dutt 2014.03.08 12:24 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document