( 1 ) THIS petition has been filed by the husband against his wife under sec. 19 of the INDIAN DIVORCE ACT, 1869, for a declaration that his marriage with the respondent is null and void.

( 2 ) THE material facts are:- Both the petitioner and respondent profess Christian faith. According to the Christian rites, the petitioner was married to the respondent on 19-5-1971. Before the marriage was consummated, It was revealed that the respondent was pregnant on the date of the marriage. The respondent concealed from the petitioner the fact that she was pregnant on the date of her marriage with the petitioner. If the petitioner knew that the respondent was pregnant on the date of her marriage, he would not have married her. The consent of the petitioner to the marriage was thus obtained by playing fraud on him, by concealing the real facts. The respondent wrote a letter (Ex-A-1) dated 26-5-1971 to the petitioner, wherein she admitted that she was pregnant before the marriage; that, she was a sinner, and that, she was not a fit person to live with the petitioner. There is no collusion or connivance between the petitioner and the respondent in regard to the subject-matter of t