- (1.) THIS first appeal is at the instance of a wife in a suit for divorce on the ground of non-compliance of a decree for restitution of conjugal right, and this appeal is preferred against the judgment and decree dated 27th April, 2004 passed by the learned Additional District Judge, Second Court, Burdwan, in matrimonial Suit No. 23 of 1999.
(2.) THE facts giving rise to filing of the present appeal may be summed up thus: (a) The parties were married on 7th December, 1981 according to the Hindu rites and customs and a male child was born in the said wedlock. (b) The husband, an employee of the State Bank of India, was posted in chittaranjan, where he used to live in his official quarter. After marriage, the respondent started living at the quarter of the husband but subsequently they started residing at a newly constructed house of the husband at Burdwan town from November, 1985 for the purpose of treatment of their son and the husband used to visit the house at Burdwan from Chittaranjan at the weekend. (c) According to the husband, he found that the said house at Burdwan was occupied by his father-in-law and his family members and apprehending that he would be put into great trouble for eviction of his father-in-law, he requested the appellant to live with him in his quarter at Chittaranjan but she did not agree to the proposal. (d) Subsequently, she came to his quarter in 1991 and stayed there for sometime but returned to the husband's house at Burdwan. As in spite of the repeated requests to come back to Chittaranjan, she paid no heed to such request, the husband was compelled to initiate a suit for restitution of conjugal right, which was registered as Matrimonial Suit No. 8 of 1992. (e) The learned additional District Judge, Second Court, Burdwan, by judgment and decree dated 28th February, 1994 decreed the said suit and directed the wife to come to the residence of the husband within three months with a direction upon the husband to arrange for a separate accommodation of his dependent family members, namely, mother, brother and sister. In compliance with the said direction of the Court, the husband arranged for separate accommodation of his dependant family members but in spite of that, the wife did not come. It further appears that the wife preferred an appeal before this Court against the decree of restitution of conjugal right but ultimately, the said appeal was dismissed as not pressed after long seven years. (f) In view of the aforesaid fact, the husband filed the suit out of which the present appeal arises for divorce on the ground of non-compliance of the earlier decree of restitution of conjugal right.
(3.) THE suit was contested by the wife by filing written statement thereby denying the material allegations made in the plaint and her defence was that she was always willing to go back to Chittaranjan but as the husband did not make any arrangement for shifting her mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, she was prevented from coming to the quarter of the husband at Chittaranjan due to fear of her life.;