S.K. MAL LODHA, J.—F.B. Civil Misc. Reference (Divorce) No. 120 of 1978 has come up before us exercising jurisdiction over matrimonial causes under sec. 17 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 (No. IV of 1869) (for short, the Act hereafter) for confirmation of a decree is passed by the learned District JuSge, Jodhpur dated January 3, 1978. S.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No. 32 of 1978 under sec. 55 of the Act is directed against the aforesaid order of the learned District Judge by which he awarded Rs. 1,000/- as damages to the petitioner- husband by the appellant-non-petitioner No. 2 (alleged adulterer). The reference and the appeal were heard together. As common questions of law and fact are involved, it is convenient to decide them by a common judgment.

2. B.D. Charles is the husband, Smt. Nora Benjamin is his wife and Ravikumar Goswami is the alleged adulterer, who will hereafter be referred to as the husband, the wife and the adulterer respectively. In the petition of the husband under sec. 10 of the Act, the wife and the adulterer were impleaded as non-petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 respectively. The case of the husband is that he and his wife are Christians and they were married in Tudala City,

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