MANJIT SINGH Vs. BAKHSHISH SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petitioner's appeal against an order passed by the Guardianship Judge, Jullundur, dated the 7th of July, 1950, dismissing the petitioner's application under Section 25 of the guardians and Wards Act for the custody of his daughter as against the petitioner's wife Indira and his father-in-law Bakhshish Singh.

(2.) MANJIT Singh is a son of Kanwar Jasjit Singh and is connected with the ruling family of what used to be Kapurthala State. On the 9th of February, 1943, he married Indira, who is the daughter of Sardar Bakhshish Singh, the proprietor of Sant Flour Mills, Jullundur. She was at that time a Graduate in Science. On the 19th of November, 1943, a daughter named Manjo was born. It appears that soon after the marriage differences arose between the husband and the wife and the husband started ill-treating his wife and even assaulted her by giving her severe beating. According to the wife, apart from the fact that husband was a hot tempered and violent person, he was making demands of money from the wife's parents and he ill-treated her in order to force the parents of the wife to give him large sums of money.

(3.) THE wife alleged that she was turned out by her husband in April, 1944, but what actually happened was that she was beaten by her husband and had to be taken away to her parents' house along with the daughter, Manjo. On the 8th August, 1945, Manjit Singh sent a telegram from amritsar to his wife saying: "getting married good-bye for ever. Manjit" In January, 1946, the petitioner married again, a daughter of one Ram Narain. The wife Indira and the daughter stayed on with the father, Bakhshish Singh.