K.K. Adhikari, J. - (1.)The appellant/husband has preferred this appeal against the judgment and decree passed in Civil Suit No. 34-A/82, passed by District Judge, Narsimhapur on 24-1-1984. The plaintiff/respondent/ wife Trivenibai is admittedly the legally married wife of the appellant. They were married according to the Hindu rites some four years prior to the filing of the application under Sec. 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, for grant of maintenance. The marriage was performed in village Berhata and it is an admitted fact that the plaintiff/wife is living separately from her husband/appellant since about two years before the filing of the application for. grant of maintenance. In short the plaintiff/wife's case is that after her marriage with the appellant, she lived with him for a couple of years during which time the appellant cast aspersions and levelled false accusations against her character and she suffered this till the appellant left her at her father's house some two years ago and did not care to bring her back since then inspite of repeated requests. The false allegations made by the appellant against the respondent went to the extent of imputing unchastity by falsely alleging that she was carrying pregnancy of six months. Therefore, under these circumstances there was no alternative left for her but to claim separate maintenance at the rate of Rs. 250.00 per month. The plaintiff/wife has also claimed arrears of maintenance for the period of two years prior to the institution of the suit. It has been contended that the appellant was a man of means having agricultural lands of his own and was also cultivating lands on SHIKMI and thereby earning income of Rs. 11,000.00 to 20,000.00 per annum. It was alleged that the plaintiff/wife had no independent means of subsistence. In the application under Sec. 18 of the aforesaid Act, the plaintiff/wife also claimed return of ornaments on the ground that they being her STRIDHAN been illegally retained by the appellant. The appellant denied the allegations and alleged that the appellant wife herself is to be blamed as she was not willing to live with him inspite of the fact that PANCHAYAT was held in village Reachha on 4-6-1982, in which it was decided that the plaintiff/wife should accompany the defendant to his house after a fortnight. It is further averred that when the appellant went to fetch her on 20-6-1982, the plaintiff/wife refused to come with him on the ground that she was pregnant. The-appellant thereupon himself noticed that the plaintiff/wife was carrying pregnancy of about five to six months. It has been further alleged by the appellant in his defence that the plaintiff/wife got aborted on 29-6-1982 to get rid of the illegitimate child. It was also averred that the plaintiff wife was living immoral life and was having illicit relations with one K.N. Singh who was living in her father's house and, therefore, she has formited her right of maintenance. The liability for the return of the ornaments or any other thing or money was denied by the appellant.
(2.)So far as the status of the defendant is concerned, it was pleaded that he possessed about five acres of land given to him on PATTA by the State Government and had no other source of income. On the other hand, it was alleged that the plaintiff/wife had a share in her father's property by virtue of provisions of Hindu Succession Act.
(3.)Number of issues were framed and the learned trial Court on evaluation of the evidence, both oral and documentary, passed the decree making the appellant liable to pay a sum of Rs. 4,200.00 towards the arrears of maintenance for two years up to the date of the suit and further maintenance at the rate of Rs. 175.00 per month as against Rs. 250.00 claimed by the plaintiff/wife. Since the application under Sec. 18 of the aforesaid Act was made in forma pauperis and the amount of Rs. 4,655.00 was payable as the court-fees, it was decreed that the said amount be paid by the appellant. The cost of the suit was also awarded to be paid by the appellant to the respondent.