- (1.) THIS is a defendant' s second appeal arising out of the judgment and decree dated 13th October, 1976 passed by the Additional District Judge, Dehra Dun.
(2.) THE facts giving rise to this appeal can briefly be stated as under : Smt. Gurbachan Kaur and Sardar Swaran Singh, hereinafter called the appellant and the respondent respectively, were married on 2nd of October, 1973. Some differences having arisen between them, the respondent filed a suit under Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act for a declaration that his marriage with the appellant was null and void. It was alleged in the plaint that on 14th of October, 1973, when the appellant was found profusely bleeding from her private part, she was shown to a lady doctor and it was then discovered that the appellant was already having pregnancy with a treat of miscarriage. On being questioned the appellant confessed that she was quick with child and had taken medicine to get rid of the pregancy. THE respondent, it is alleged, therefore sent the appellant back to her father' s house, but on 25th of March, 1974, the appellant was escorted back to his house by her mother and left there. It is further alleged that when the respondent insisted upon the appellant to go back to her father' s house, as she had illicit intercourse with some person before her marriage, the appellant went to bath-room and swallowed Tik-20 saying that she was ending her life. She was again taken to hospital from where she was discharged on 28th of March, 1974 and was then sent back to her father' s house along with her Istridhan property. The suit was resisted by the appellant. In the written statement filed by her she denied all the allegations made against her. She, however, made a counter-allegation against the respondent to the effect that the respondent had adulterous relations with his sister-in-law and that the respondent, in collusion with his sister-in-law, intentionally administered some kind of slow poison to her. It was further alleged by her that on 29th of March, 1974 the respondent beat her, snatched away all her jewellery, clothing etc. and turned her out of the house. After the aforesaid written statement had been filed by the appellant, the respondent got the plaint amended to include a plea to the effect that false charge of adultery and that of administering poison to the appellant, levelled against him in the written statement amounted to repeated and persistent cruelty against him and he was on that ground entitled to a decree of dissolution of marriage against the appellant. 4-A. The trial court on the consideration of the evidence on record held that the allegations made against the appellant about her being pregnant since before her marriage was incorrect. The trial court, however, held that the counter-allegation made by the appellant that the respondent was living an adulterous life with his sister-in-law and that both of them administered slow poison to her amounted to an act of cruelty. In the result, the trial court granted a decree for dissolution of marriage.
(3.) AGGRIEVED against the judgment of the trial court, Smt. Gurbachan Kaur filed an appeal in the court of the District Judge, Dehra Dun. The learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, who heard the appeal, took notice of the amendment of S. 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act as brought about by Act 68 of 1976 and observed that, after the amendment, cruelty simpliciter was a sufficient ground for divorce and it was not necessary that such an act should be repeated or persistent. Further on the learned Additional District Judge concurred with the finding of the trial court that the allegation made by the appellant against the respondent about his having adulterous relations with his sister-in-law and about the respondent and his sister-in-law having colluded to administer poison to her amounted to acts of cruelty. The learned Additional District Judge, accordingly, confirmed the decree passed by the trial court and dismissed the appeal. Feeling dissatisfied with the judgment of the lower appellate court, Smt. Gurbachan Kaur has come up in appeal before this Court.;