M.M. Punchhi, J. - (1.) SINCE the claim of the wife that she had repudiated her marriage, solemnised before the attainment of 15 years of age. after attaining that age but before attaining the age of 18 years was negatived by the Additional District Judge, she has come up in appeal. Some of the undisputed facts which have been found by the Court below are these.
(2.) THE wife was born on 28 -8 -1965, as revealed from birth entry, Exhibit P. 2. The marriage took place on 7 -4 -1976 i. e. before she attained the age of 15 years She repudiated the marriage after attaining the age of 15 years as established by her conduct, least of which is her filing the petition for divorce. The only clog to her claim was whether she had caused repudiation of the marriage before attaining the age of 18 years. The wife completed her eighteenth year on 28 -8 -1983 and it was on her to prove that she had repudiated the marriage before that date. She filed the petition for the purpose on 17 -1 -1985 i.e. after one year, five months and twenty -one days of her completing eighteen years of age. The act of repudiation, if any, was thus a matter of pleading and proof.
(3.) AS averred in her petition, she stated in paragraph 5 thereof that she had repudiated the alleged marriage after attaining the age of 15 years and before attaining the age of 18 years. To this, the husband replied that marriage was validated by the wife after attaining her maturity and she remained with the husband for about one month and consummated marriage with the Respondent. In her replication, she stuck to her ground and asserted repudiation of the marriage. At the trial, she maintained that she was a virgin and had never gone to live with the husband in his house. The husband, on the other hand, stuck to his claim that the marriage was consummated and the wife was not a virgin. However, the wife got herself medico -legally examined from Dr. Subhita Azmani P. W. 4. She deposed to have made observations in her medico -legal report. Exhibit P. 3, from which she came to the opinion that the wife was a virgin. This aspect of the case is also no longer in dispute that the wife is a virgin. No medical expert to the contrary was produced by the husband.;