JOHNSON M JOSEPH ALIAS SHAJOO Vs. ANEETA JHONSON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by the husband under Section 55 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act) against the judgment and decree by which his application under Section 23 of the Act for judicial separation has been rejected.

(2.) It is not in dispute that plaintiff Jhonson M. Joseph and defendant Aneeta Johnson are christians, they were married on 24-4-1995 at Bhopal; the plaintiff is a Ticket Examiner in Railway and the defendant has done M. Com. and is working in a private company; the plaintiff's parents are living in Brindawan Nagar, Bhopal and the defendant's parents are also living in Govindpura, Bhopal; the defendant after the marriage lived with the plaintiff in the house of his parents for a brief period from 24-4-1995 to 8-6-1995; thereafter they lived in a rented house near Ashbagh Stadium at Bhopal at a monthly rent of Rs. 800/- from 8-6-1995 to 15-7-1995; the defendant became pregnant and then she went to the house of her parents on 15-7-1995; she is living there since then; she gave birth to a male child on 1-3-1996 at Kasturba Hospital, Bhopal, she sent the notice dated 10-5-1996 (Ex. P.1) to the plaintiff alleging that she was treated with cruelty by him and his parents in connection with their demand for dowry, the plaintiff sent the reply dated 14-5-1996 Ex. P. 2) to the defendant denying the allegations and calling upon the defendant to come to his house and stay with him as his wife; the plaintiff filed a suit in the Court against the defendant for restitution of conjugal rights and that case was fixed for hearing on 8-8-1996; the defendant appeared in the Court after receiving notice of that case; the defendant lodged a report on 10-8-1996 before the Mahila Police Station, a copy of which is Ex. P. 6; the police registered a case under Section 498-A, IPC against the plaintiff and his parents and they were arrested on 19-9-1996 by the police and they were produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Bhopal; the defendant opposed the grant of bail to the plaintiff but they were released on bail by the Court; the plaintiff and his parents were convicted under Section 498-A, IPC by the Judicial Magistrate First Class by the judgment dated 8-2-2001 in Criminal Case No. 1552 of 2000 but they have been acquitted of this charge by the Court of Session by the judgment dated 19-6-2001 in Criminal Appeal No. 35 of 2001. The Court of Session found on appreciation of the evidence in the criminal case that the case of the defendant that the plaintiff and his parents were demanding MIG flat and a fridge as dowry is false. It has also been found that the defendant is living with her parents and she does not want to live with her husband. It has been held that the plaintiff and his parents have not treated the defendant with cruelty.

(3.) The plaintiff's case in the present suit is that the behaviour of the defendant with him and his parents was not good from the very beginning. She wanted to live with her husband separate from his parents and therefore, his father took a house on rent near Ashbagh Stadium where the plaintiff and the defendant could live only for a period of one month and seven days and the defendant left that house also and went to the house of her parents. Since then she never cared to come to the house of the plaintiff and gave the notice dated 10-5-1996 making false allegations. According to the plaintiff he has never demanded MIG flat or fridge from the defendant or her parents. He has pleaded that he has suffered mental cruelty and humiliation because of the criminal case initiated by the defendant against him and his parents. The plaintiff several times went to the defendant to bring her back and his son but she refused to come. It is the case of the plaintiff that the defendant has treated him with cruelty and deserted him without any reasonable excuse for more that two years, and decree for divorce should be granted.