AJAZ ALI Vs. MTZOHRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mt. Zohra, a minor Mahomedan girl brought a suit with Mohammad Ibrahim Khan for her next friend in the Court of the Munsif of Etah for recovery of Rs. 780. The suit was directed against Aijaz Ali, who is the applicant before this Court. Aijaz Ali was admittedly married to Mt. Zohra. The latter alleged that she had been divorced by her husband. She claimed from him Rs. 250 being the price of certain ornaments alleged to have been wrongfully appropriated by the husband; Rs. 500 for her dower debt and Rs. 30 for her maintenance during the period of iddat. The divorce is alleged to have taken place on 10 October 1929.

(2.) The defendant denied having divorced his wife and repudiated the claim in toto. On 23 June 1930, the suit was referred to arbitration. Plaintiff appointed Babu Jagat Narain vakil as her arbitrator. The defendant appointed Babu Ahmad Hussain Khan, mukhtar, as his arbitrator. On Moulvi Hasan Mohomad, vakil, was appointed as the umpire The material portion of the agreement of reference runs as follows: The parties shall abide by and shall agree to any decision which may be made by the arbitrators and the umpire. The award shall, be given effect to with reference to the opinion of the majority,

(3.) The crucial question in this case was whether or not there had been a divorce. The suit had been instituted shortly after the marriage. The age of the plaintiff at the time of the suit was just over 14. There can be no manner of doubt that the marriage had proved unhappy. Parties appear to have acted wisely to refer the matter to arbitration. The arbitrator for the defendant held that there had been no divorce by the parties He was therefore of opinion that the plaintiff's suit was liable to dismissal. He gave no award as to the amounts claimed.