- (1.) THIS first appeal is at the instance of a husband in a suit for divorce on the ground of cruelty and is directed against the judgment and decree dated 23rd December, 1998 passed by the learned Additional district Judge, Fifth Court, Alipore, in Matrimonial Suit No. 66 of 1990 thereby dismissing the suit with a specific finding that the appellant failed to prove cruelty alleged in the application for divorce.
(2.) THE case made out by the appellant in the pleading as amended may be summed up thus : (a) The parties were married on 7th March, 1988 according to the hindu rites and ceremonies at 1/15, Mall Road, Dum Dum. On the eighth day of the marriage, at the time of visit to the wife's house, the appellant was told by the mother and the brother of the respondent that he was required to stay away from his own family and start his life with his wife at the paternal house of the respondent at Dum Dum as a domesticated son-in-law. The appellant, however, did not agree with such proposal and such denial on his part annoyed the respondent, her mother, brother and sister. (b) Thereafter, the appellant took his wife to Puri on honeymoon and stayed there for about 10 days and after returning from Puri, the wife stayed in the house of the appellant for a few days and thereafter, left for her own house at Dum Dum on 17th April, 1988. (c) On or about 2nd May, 1988, the appellant went to Dum Dum to take her back but she refused to come back by asserting that the appellant should forget his parents and sisters and must stay at dum Dum in their family. Subsequently, the appellant again on 12th May, 1988,19th May, 1988 and 27th May, 1988 went to his father-in-law's house to bring his wife back but she did not come. (d) On 12th June, 1988, the respondent made a false and baseless complaint to the local Nagarik Committee; the office bearers of such Committee, after hearing the parties and being satisfied that there was no truth in her allegations, asked her to return to her matrimonial home but she did not come back. (e) On 27th July, 1988 at about 7 p. m. , when the appellant was out of his house, the respondent came along with her brother and some antisocial persons. Although, the sisters of the appellant welcomed them, they, after going to the first floor of the house, started abusing the members of the husband's family in filthy language. Her brother and his antisocial associates started beating the appellant's sisters and even did not spare the old father of the appellant who was then aged about 76 years. One of the appellant's sisters managed to escape and informed the local people and apprehending the danger, those antisocial associates of the respondent left the place and threatened that they would come again. (f) The father of the appellant, therefore, lodged a G. D. with the behala Police Station on 27th July, 1988 narrating the incident. After coming back, the appellant heard the whole incident and on the next day, he lodged a written complaint before the local police station. (g) During her first one-month stay In the appellant's house, the wife removed all her ornaments that she got as presentation to her father's house and thereafter, she approached the Nagarik committee by making false complaint against the husband. The nagarik Committee initially refused to interfere in the matter. However, for maintaining peace and with the hope of better days, the appellant was forced to take a separate rented house at the instigation of the respondent in her name at 48/2/1, Kabi Guru sarani Road, P. S.-Behala and shifted to that house on 20th august, 1988 leaving his paralytic mother and old father and unmarried sisters. The appellant purchased the household utensils, fan, etc. and stayed there up to March, 1989. (h) During his stay with the respondent at the rented house, the appellant passed a very miserable life. The respondent used to come at about 9 p. m. in the evening some time on bus, minibus and on occasions, in the cars of others. On enquiry about her late coming, she used to answer in dirty language. Sometimes at the dead of night, she used to turn the appellant out of bedroom forcibly and for avoiding scandals, the appellant had to stay outside the room sitting on the floor. (i) During the stay at rented house, the respondent sometime kept the house under lock and key for days together staying at her father's residence. These behaviours of the respondent amounted to cruelty and in view of misbehaviour of the respondent, the appellant had lost his dignity and prestige before his friends, neighbours and office colleagues. He could not sleep at night nor could he mix with his friends, neighbours and office colleagues. (j) The respondent also used to utter insulting language towards the appellant and complain that the appellant had been living in adultery with his sisters. Such false allegation gave great shock in the mind of the appellant. (k) On 25th March, 1989, the respondent did not allow the appellant to enter the house shouting that he was in illicit connection with his sisters and that she would not stay with him and drove him out on that ground. Since then, the appellant had been residing at her mother's house at 99, Agarwall Garden Road. (I) On 19th April, 1989, the appellant's mother died and in spite of giving information, the respondent did not come to take part in funeral nor did she take part in the Sradh Ceremony. (m) On 25th May, 1989, the respondent came with her brother and some associates in the house of the appellant and asked the appellant to send the two sisters to any orphanage and the father to an old age home and only in these circumstances, she agreed to come to the house of the appellant. The respondent also used filthy language towards the appellant's sisters and father. Thereafter, they left the house, (n) After the filing of the suit, the respondent with the help of the nagarik Committee forcibly entered into the house of the appellant and injured the inmates of the house. In view of such incident, a general Diary was lodged in the local police station and subsequently, the respondent lodged complaint under Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code against the appellant and other members of the family. All of them were arrested and subsequently, were released on bail. She forcibly occupied a portion of the house of his father after the institution of the suit.
(3.) THE respondent contested the suit by filing written statement thereby denying the material allegations made in the plaint and the defence of the respondent may be summed up thus: (1) All the allegations made against the wife were false. On 8th April, 1988, the appellant along with his divorced sister tried to set fire in her Sari as the respondent told that there was no talk of giving dressing table at the time of marriage. The appellant and his divorced sister began to beat her, as a result, the respondent had fallen ill and ultimately, she left with her brother to the respondent's house at Dum Dum on 24th April, 1988. (2) On 27th May, 1988, the respondent went to the appellant's house at Behala after being recovered from illness but the appellant's father and the divorced sister forcibly drove her out from the house and threatened her with dire consequence if the respondent came to the house of the appellant any further. The appellant told the respondent that he would marry his previous girlfriend after divorcing the respondent. The allegation that on 27th July, 1988, the wife and her brother and other antisocial elements came to the house of the appellant and abused the family-members was a false statement and the diary lodged was based on false story. It was equally false that the respondent removed all her ornaments and clothing to her father's house. (3) The appellant at the rented house, on several occasions, forced the wife to stay outside the room and tortured her. It was absolutely a false allegation that she used to come back at late night as alleged. The respondent was attacked with Cholera in the rented house but at that time, the appellant left the respondent and lived at his father's house. The local people helped the respondent from recovering from the illness. It was absolutely false to allege that the wife ever asked the husband to send his two sisters in boarding house and the father to an old age home. (4) The husband had a love affair with a girl from the childhood, which was disclosed by the husband after the marriage, and the appellant married the respondent with an intention to grab the ornaments and the clothing of the respondent, as she was a Central government employee. The appellant used to often beat the respondent. After returning from Puri, the appellant started beating, slapping and torturing the respondent. However, the mother-in-law of the respondent was very much kind towards the respondent and she advised the appellant not to beat the respondent. The appellant made several General Diaries before the local police station. Once the appellant and his divorced sister tried to burn the respondent when she was asleep at the house of the appellant. At the intervention of the well-wishers of the respondent, the rented house was taken but after the appellant physically assaulted the respondent, the members of the Manila Samity helped the respondent to enter the house of the appellant on 8th March, 1990 and from that date, the parties started living as husband and wife in the same room sharing the same bed. (5) The respondent is a service holder being an upper division clerk at A. G. Bengal and wants to live with the appellant as husband and wife but the intention of the appellant was to drive out the respondent with a motive to marry another girl and to grab the ornaments of the respondents. Even after the institution of the suit, the parties were leading conjugal life as a husband and wife and therefore, the suit was liable to be dismissed. ;