- (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 5th august, 2005 passed by the learned Additional District Judge, First Court, midnapore, in Matrimonial Suit No. 189 of 2001 thereby dismissing the said suit. Being dissatisfied, the husband has come up with the present appeal.
(2.) THE appellant before us filed a suit being Title Suit No. 189 of the 2001 in the Court of the learned District Judge, Midnapore for divorce and the case made out by the appellant may be summed up thus: (a) The parties were married according to Hindu rites and customs on 19th july, 1999 in the house of the father of the respondent at Bidhan Nagar town, District- Midnapore within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court. (b) The appellant was a student of Midnapore College from which he graduated with Honours in Chemistry in the year 1986 and the father of the respondent at the relevant time was a lecturer of that college in the department of Chemistry and the appellant being a brilliant student, the father of the respondent used to like him. (c) After graduation, the appellant got his Postgraduate education from I. I. T. , kharagpur and thereafter, he went to Bangalore and got his Ph. D. degree therefrom and ultimately, he went to Germany for his Postdoctoral Research. (d) Throughout such a long career of the appellant, he kept himself in touch with the father of the respondent and the respondents father also used to keep regular contact with the appellant. (e) In June, 1999, the appellant came from Germany on leave and met the respondents father in July, 1999. He was about to complete his postdoctoral Research. The father of the respondent discussed with the appellant about his future plan and programme and advised him to get married inasmuch as it was the right age of his marriage. (f) The appellant casually disclosed that he was yet to take a decision over the matter. Besides, there being no negotiation over the matter and his stay in india was for a limited period, as a result, it was quite impossible on his part to get himself prepared for the marriage. (g) The father of the respondent suddenly approached the appellant to marry his daughter and the proposal was so sudden and so unexpected that the appellant was rather spellbound which the respondents father took to be his consent and then proceeded with the arrangement of the marriage at a hot haste and the appellant had no other alternative but to agree to such proposal. (h) Accordingly, the marriage in between the parties took place on 19th July, 1999. After the marriage, it was detected and noticed that the respondent was of cold temperament and introvert in nature. After marriage, the appellant stayed for a very limited period in India and by this time, he had to go to his native place and ultimately, had to leave for Germany on 30th july, 1999 and there was hardly any scope for free mixing and exchange of idea with the respondent. (i) Subsequently, after getting her passport, visa, etc. , the respondent arrived in Germany on 26th September, 1999. The appellant was eager to get warm company of his newly wedded wife and he had all his desire, craving and eagerness for such company and on her arrival he was delighted but most unfortunately, it was noticed that the respondent kept herself quiet in an indifferent attitude and in off mood and had very cold approach towards the appellant. She had no attraction at all towards the appellant and all along had the intention to avoid the appellant. (j) Initially, the appellant thought that such attitude might be due to her homesickness which would be temporary one and the appellant tried his best to keep the respondent in good humour but all in vain. (k) Gradually, it became constant headache for the appellant to pass his time with the respondent. She used to act like a machine, full of mechanism and artificial one. She had no sexual urge and used to remain quiet and cold at the time of cohabitation and practically she used to take the matter to be physical torture upon her and tried to avoid the appellant. (l) The appellant wanted to know the cause and the reason thereof and after long silence, she ultimately replied that she had no urge of feeling in sex and had got no attraction towards the appellant and for his company and the matter of sharing bed with him to be nothing but physical torture upon her. The appellant wanted to consider the matter sympathetically and approached her to go to any doctor for consultation but the respondent flatly refused and turned down the proposal. (m) Thereafter, the respondent disclosed that she was born as a premature baby and had been suffering from various ailments and it was impossible on her part to lead a normal conjugal life with the appellant and she advised the appellant to go for second marriage for his sexual satisfaction. (n) The life of the appellant became meaningless and by this time, he finished his work and came back to India and stayed at his in-laws place along with the respondent and gradually narrated everything to the members of her family but none took the matter seriously. (o) On her return, the respondent started avoiding the appellant completely and she used to come before the appellant only in the presence of a third party. She used to come to bed late and to sleep with her mother most of the nights. (p) That the entire matter became the cause of tremendous mental shock and agony for the appellant and he had undergone great mental torture. His sincere endeavour to get the respondent examined by any doctor failed inasmuch as the respondent had turned down such proposal and flatly refused to go to any doctor. The parents of the respondent, however, supported her activity and on the contrary, claimed that their daughter was quite normal. (q) The appellant expressed his discomfort to stay at his in-laws place and thereafter, the father of the respondent arranged for their staying at a rented accommodation at Rangamati and the appellant went there to live along with the respondent. (r) By this time, the appellant got his service at Vidyasagar University, midnapore and joined as a Reader, in the Department of Chemistry and chemical Technology on 29th September, 2000. The appellant expected that the respondent must be happy over the matter and the appellant also had desired that he would celebrate the occasion jointly with the respondent but the respondent flatly refused to do so and she left for her aunts place. (s) Day by day the behaviour, attitude and activity of the respondent caused terrific mental shock and extreme deprivation of the normal life of the appellant and the same changed the entire life and meaning of life of the appellant. (t) The appellant left no stone unturned to get adjusted with the respondent but was unsuccessful. He even wanted that the respondent might simply give him company but nothing could change her attitude and she ultimately left the house of the appellant for good on 22nd November, 2000 and started living with her parents. Hence the suit.
(3.) THE suit was contested by the wife by filing written statement thereby denying the material allegation made in the application for divorce and the case of the respondent may be summed up thus: (1) The appellant went for Germany for his Postdoctoral Research in the year 1996 and prior to leaving for Germany, the appellant came to meet with the respondent and her father and stayed for two or three days in the house of the respondent. In the month of July, 1999, the appellant returned from Germany on leave and met with the respondents father. On 11th July, 1999, the appellant came to the respondents house and for the first time, approached the respondents mother to marry the respondent. As the respondent and her parents knew the appellant for quite a longtime and also the career of the appellant was praiseworthy, they agreed to the proposal of the appellant and went to his native place to fix a date of the marriage after discussion with his parents. At that time, the respondent was a student of B. Ed. (Part-II) and her father requested the appellant and his parents to celebrate the marriage of the parties after completion of the respondents Part-II examination but the appellant and his parents did not want to wait for 6-7 months and on the face of their pressure, the parents of the respondent agreed within a week for fixing the date of the marriage. (2) After the marriage, the appellant spent 10 days in his father-in-laws house without going to his native village and in those days, the appellant repeatedly requested the parents of the respondent to make arrangement for respondents visit to Germany. At that time, neither the respondent nor her family members could understand the motive of the appellant. The appellant went to Germany on 30th July 1999 and within a month the respondent also joined him there. (3) The respondent had new hope in her heart to lead a happy conjugal life but on reaching Germany she found the appellant as extremely selfish, absolutely dominating, arrogant and irritating person. In abroad, the respondent was fully dependant upon the appellant in every respect but his inconsiderate and unsympathetic attitude hurt the respondent. Now and then, the appellant insulted the respondent by taking the name of her parents and abused her. If the respondent wanted to raise any protest, the appellant disclosed that the only reason for his hasty decision to marry and to bring the respondent in Germany was to get double amount of money for stipend from the authority concerned showing themselves as married couple. (4) The respondent tried her level best to adjust with the appellant in every manner but unfortunately she could not understand what her husband wanted from her. The allegation about the respondents cold behaviour at the time of cohabitation or her inability to fulfil the appellants sexual urge are all false and frivolously framed for the purpose of the present suit. The appellant never complained about those things, on the other hand, regarding the planning for a family he never paid attention towards the wish and aspiration of the respondent. (5) As such, the question of her refusal to consult with a doctor did not arise at all. On returning from Germany during the appellants stay at his in-laws house, he compelled the respondent to understand the fact that as he was unsettled in his life till then, it became unwise to involve in a family. For the sake of the appellants future, the respondent suppressed her secret desire in her heart. (6) After returning from Germany, seven months thereafter, on sincere effort of the father of the respondent, the appellant got the job of Reader in chemistry in the Vidyasagar University on 29th September, 2000 and took rented accommodation at Rangamati nearer to University Campus. Prior to getting of the said service, the appellant stayed with the respondent at his in-laws house and not for a single day he brought the respondent to her matrimonial house. The respondent subsequently came to know that the appellants educational qualification being much higher than that of the other members of the family, he could not adjust with them. (7) After getting the service of Reader in the Vidyasagar University, the behaviour of the appellant towards the respondent became completely changed. The constant insult and ill-treatment upon the respondent made her life almost miserable. On trivial issue, the appellant quarrelled with the respondent and compelled her to obey his every direction. Now and then, the appellant used to tell the respondent that anytime he could get seven/eight lakh rupees by marrying another woman and in this way, threatened to divorce the respondent. The mental torture upon the respondent increased when the appellant expressed that the father of the respondent, by creating pressure upon him, compelled him to marry the respondent. The respondent tolerated all his cruel and selfish behaviour for the sake of family peace. (8) The appellants service in University and greed for money made him self-centered, selfish and brut. He began to create physical torture upon the respondent and after being appointed as a Reader he took the rental premises and shifted there from his in-laws house. At that time, he also brought his mother. The appellants mother used to support her son and along with her son, she used to inflict torture upon the respondent by her words and behaviour and made the respondent understood that if she could give the marriage of her son elsewhere, she could get seven/eight lakh rupees. She further disclosed that the respondent was not matched for the appellant and she should release her son from the marital tie. When the respondent protested against such behaviour they became merciless and the respondent was subjected to inhumane physical torture. Ultimately, on 22nd November, 2000, the appellant and her mother drove away the respondent with demand of dowry after committing inhumane physical torture upon the respondent and all her belongings were snatched away. From that date, the respondent was residing in her fathers house with help of her father. (9) Even thereafter, the respondent tried to contact with the appellant in every day over telephone when the appellant refused to talk with the respondent and wanted not to keep any relation with her. The respondent was always ready to return to the appellants house. The allegations about the respondent regarding matrimonial offence are false and baseless. ;