- (1.) THIS appeal is at the instance of a wife in a suit for divorce on the ground of cruelty and is directed against the judgment and decree dated 16th May, 2005 passed by the Additional District Judge, Third Court, Barassat in Matrimonial suit No. 17 of 2002 by which the learned Trial Judge granted the decree for divorce.
(2.) BEING dissatisfied, the wife has come up with the present first appeal. The husband filed a suit being Matrimonial Suit No. 1294 of 2001 in the court of the learned District Judge, Barasat for divorce on the ground of cruelty. The said suit was subsequently transferred to the Court of the learned Additional district Judge, Third Court, Barasat and was renumbered as Matrimonial Suit no. 17 of 2002.
(3.) THE case made out by the husband may be summed up thus: (a) After the marriage of the parties, they started staying together at the house of the husband at 12/1, Mahajati Nagar, Birati and immediately after the marriage, the trouble started in the family of the husband at the instigation of the mother of the wife who used to visit the house of the husband quite often. On her advice, the wife stated misbehaving with the husband and his parents and the main object of the mother of the wife was to separate the husband from his old parents or to make him a domesticated son-in-law in the house of the wife at Salt Lake. (b) In the meantime, a child was born on 26th November, 1994 but the wife at the instigation of her mother deprived the husband and his parents from the love and affection of the child. The wife left the matrimonial home with her child without informing the parent of the husband and continued to stay at Salt Lake. After long persuasion and through the intervention of the Mahila Samity, although the wife returned to her matrimonial home, when the parents of the husband approached the child, the wife reacted violently and she denied the access of the child to the parents of the husband and again left the matrimonial home on 19th April, 1996 without informing the husband and his parents and then came back on 3rd May, 1996. Thereafter, the wife again left the matrimonial home on 15th August, 1996 without any information and came back after a short span and finally on 14th October, 1996 she left without informing anybody just leaving a sheet of paper indicating her departure. The husband approached the respondent at her residence at Salt Lake for returning to her matrimonial home which she flatly refused. As a result, the husband filed a proceeding for restitution of conjugal right under Section 9 of the hindu Marriage Act. However, the said petition was ultimately withdrawn by the husband. The wife, however, served a notice to the employer of the husband making baseless allegation that amount of alimony was due to her under the order of the Court and she took step for attachment of the salary. She also by going to the office of the husband abused him in the presence of his colleagues thereby affecting his social status and dignity in the esteem of his colleagues. Ultimately, the wife on 10th August, 2001 again came back to the matrimonial home being armed with an order under Section 144 of the Cr. P. C. with the help of police by occupying the entire ground floor consisting five rooms by denying access to the husband and his parents in the ground floor. The respondent also used to threat the husband of initiating proceeding under Section 498a of the Indian Penal code; as a result, the husband with his parents had left the place and started living in a rented house. ;