- (1.) This appeal under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act was filed by Harmeet Kaur-appellant assailing the judgment and decree of divorce dated 30.11.2013 passed by the learned Additional District Judge(FCT), Rupnagar in H.M. Act Case No. RT 63 dated 22.07.2011 dissolving her marriage with Amritpal Singh-respondent petitioner.
(2.) Amritpal Singh Kang-respondent was married to appellant-Harmeet Kaur on 15.01.1990 at Village Kotla Dadheri as per Sikh rites and ceremonies. After the marriage, the parties lived and cohabited together at Morinda upto 1996 and two children, namely, Amanpreet Kaur and Sharanpreet Singh were born out of their wedlock, who are since residing with the respondent. It was alleged that in the year 1996, Amritpal Singh went to USA and it was decided by the parties that as and when he gets citizenship or green card, he would migrate his entire family to USA. However, he could not settle in USA and shifted to Canada where also he was not given permanent rights and therefore, he came back to India in the month of June 2010. Amritpal Singh pleaded that during his absence, Harmeet Kaur had lived for 17-18 years in his house at Morinda and he carried on to send money to her. He tried to get her visa for USA and Canada but her papers were rejected. After he returned to India, he went to the parental house of Harmeet Kaur and lived there for 2-3 days and then came to his parents house at Morinda. He was compelled by Harmeet Kaur to live with her at the parental house. As he did not agree, she became annoyed and started raising frivolous allegations against him. Though she came to Morinda and started living with him but she always quarrelled with him and compelled him to shift to her parental home. Whenever, he went out of the house in search of work, she raised suspicion on him. On 22.12.2010, she left the matrimonial home. Thereafter, he suffered heart attack and got himself treated from various doctors but she did not care for him. Rather, she gave false complaints to the police against him alleging that he had illicit relations or had married a lady named Charanjit Kaur Sandhu and was living in adultery with her. She also complained that he had annexed fake documents to obtain a new passport for going abroad. The complaint was registered at Sr. No.209/ CPRC dated 14.05.2011 with the police. The matter was inquired into and the allegations were found to be false. Amritpal Singh further alleged that all allegations levelled against him by Harmeet Kaur were totally false and made him upset and her said act and conduct resulted in mental and physical cruelty to him. The appellant-wife had filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955(in short, the Act) in the Court of Learned District Judge, Fatehgarh Sahib, which was dismissed. Alleging that he had been deserted by Harmeet Kaur-wife without any reasonable cause and had also been treated with cruelty by her, Amritpal Singh prayed for a decree of divorce by dissolution of his marriage with Harmeet Kaur.
(3.) Appellant-Harmeet Kaur contested the petition raising preliminary objections with regard to maintainability of the petition and concealment of true material facts by Amritpal Singh. On merits, she admitted her marriage with Amritpal Singh but alleged that the marriage was solemnized on 06.02.1993 and not on 15.01.1990 as pleaded by him. She further denied that out of the wedlock, two children were born and alleged that only one child namely Sharanpreet Singh was born to her on 02.06.1994. Further, according to Harmeet Kaur, her parents spent about Rs. 20 lacs for the settlement of respondent at America and Canada. After he went abroad, his parents started harassing and maltreating her without any reasonable cause. He being a greedy person played in the hands of his parents. She lived in her matrimonial home for 15 years in his absence, but when he returned to India in the month of December 2010, he threw her out of the house along with her minor son. He also levelled allegations against her and never paid any amount as maintenance to her. She denied that a petition under Section 13 of the Act was filed by her and submitted that brother of Amritpal Singh and his parents had obtained her signatures on some blank papers and had misused the same for filing a petition on her behalf only to obtain a decree of divorce in her absence. All other averments/allegations were denied and she prayed for dismissal of the petition.;