In a petition for restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the court must consider whether the wife has a reasonable cause for refusing to live with the husband. Such cause must be grave and weighty, and may include conduct falling short of cruelty.

KAN SINGH, J.

( 1 ) THIS is a wifes appeal against the judgment and decree of the learned District judge. Ganganagar dated 31-1-1968 granting conjugal rights to the husband and directing that the wife snail return and live with the husband.

( 2 ) THE parties were a young couple. They were married according to the Sikh rites on 5-10-1962 at Chak 16, P. S. Tehsil Raisinghnagar. A son was born on 1-7-1964 to the parties. The petitioning husband averred that the wife had gone to see her parents on 28-12-1965, but had thereafter never returned to him. According to him. he went to fetch the wife in the first week of February, 1966. but she refused to come with him without any reasonable excuse. The wife contested the application. She denied that her husband had come to take her away. She pleaded cruelty on his part. According to her. the husband was a drunkard and was not faithful to the wife. He had told her several times that he was not satisfied with her and would marry another girl. The husband wanted the wifes consent for this, but she was not agreeable to the husband taking another wife. It was for this reason that the husband started maltreating the wife. The wife alleged that the husband had on diverse occasions, between November. 1963 and January. 1964 beaten her and treated her with such cruelty as to cause a reasonable apprehension in her mind that it would be injurious for her to live with the husband. She proceeded to say that in January, 1964 the husband had forcibly sent, her away to her fathers home in Chak 16 P. S. She therefore, remained at her fathers house for one year. Thereafter on persuasion of certain Panchas the husband took the wife to his own house, but he again started maltreating her. The husband was alleged to have beaten her several times between July, 1965 and november. 1965. Then the husband sent her back to her fathers house and since then she had been residing there. The learned District Judge framed the following two Issues :-- (1) Is the petitioner guilty of cruelty towards the respondent as alleged by her in her written statement? (2) To what relief is she entitled?

( 3 ) THE wife examined herself as D. W. 1 and produced D. W. 2 Pritam Singh and d, W. 3 Bidar Singh in support of her version. In rebuttal the husband examined himself.

( 4 ) THE learned District Judge con-eidered the evidence led by the parties. He held that the wife had failed to prove that the husband was guilty of cruelty towards the wife as alleged by her. Under issue No. 2 he also considered the question whether in spite of the wifes failure to establish legal cruelty on the part of the husband there was still a reasonable cause for the wifes not returning to the husband The learned Judge considered AIR 1959 Punj 162 for this and came to the conclusion that there was no reasonable excuse for the wife to withdraw from the society of the husband.

( 5 ) I have been taken through the entire evidence on record by learned counsel and i may first deal with it. In her statement as D. W. 1 Smt. Satya had stated that after the marriage she was treated well by her husband for about a year, but thereafter he started maltreating her saying that she was of a black complexion and. therefore, he would be taking another wife. She then stated that only two rotis would be given to her to eat for the whole day and she used to be kept confined in the room.

( 6 ) THE incidents between them would fall in two parts. On the first occasion when prior to the childs birth she was maltreated she left for her fathers house. Then she gave birth to the child. Thereafter she lived with her parents for almost 8 months. Then on the persuasion of certain Panchas the husband took her away to his house and then they again lived together for 5 or 6 months. During this period of 5 or 6 months she had again been treated with cruelty and used to be given only two rotis to eat for the whole day. Then her father and a few Panchas again came to the house of