The main legal point established in the judgment is that the wife's behavior, including consistent threats of consuming poison and unjustified withdrawal from the company of the husband, constituted mental cruelty and desertion, justifying the dissolution of the marriage.

Dev Darshan Sud, J. This appeal has been instituted by the wife against the judgment and decree of the learned trial Court granting a decree of divorce dissolving the marriage between the parties to this petition.

2. The facts necessary for adjudication are being considered. The respondent-husband instituted petition under Section 13 (i-a) and (i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) pleading that the parties were married on 18th June, 2002 in accordance with the tenets of Hindu religion, customs and rites at village Saheli in District Hamirpur. They resided together as husband and wife for some time. There is no chilad out of this wedlock. The respondent- husband pleaded that they lived together as husband and wife for a short period when everything seemed to be all right, but later on it was alleged that she started complaining that she had been forcibly married by her parents against her wishes and desire. On June 03, 2003, the respondent-appellant herein insisted that she wanted to visit her parents. She was asked to go there only for a few days but she did not like this as she wanted to stay there for a longer period. Incensed by this refusal, she consumed poison. She was rushed to various hospitals where by timely medical treatment, her life was saved. The dispute(s) between them were compromised on June 7, 2003. The respondent pleads that despite this, she refused to accompany him to the matrimonial home and threatened him that she would consume poison again and implicate his entire family in false criminal cases. The respondent asserts that she finally left the matrimonial home on June 18, 2003 accompanied by her father and ever since she has not returned despite the best efforts made by the respondent herein. Again, the matter seemed to have been compromised on September 8, 2003. Thereafter she lived with him for about 11/2 months and then left the house without any reasonable cause. The so called compromise(s) were a ruse to lend false assurance to the husband that all was forgiven and forgotten.

3. The petition was resisted by the appellant, who pleaded sufficient cause for staying away and pleaded for award of special costs under Section 35-A of the Code of Civil Procedure. She pleaded that she was not permitted to come to the matrimonial home by the father of the respondent herein on one pretext or the other. She says that her in-laws had an aversion for her. They were demanding dowry. They were openly proclaiming that they had better matrimonial alliances for their son. When she went to Ludhiana to join the company of the respondent, she was again forced to leave his house by her Jeth (elder brother of the petitioner-respondent herein).

4. The learned Court below settled seven issues. The onus of first two issues which related to the fact as to whether the respondent-appellant herein had treated her husband (respondent herein) with cruelty and whether she was guilty of desertion, was on the respondent and on the other four settled issues i.e. on the question of maintainability, estoppel, the fact that the husband had not approached the Court with clean hands as he had suppressed material facts and whether she was entitled to exemplary costs, the onus was on the appellant. The respondent examined five witnesses in all including himself.

5. Adverting to the first issue, the learned Court found that marriage between the parties was performed on June 18, 2002, as pleaded, they lived together for about a year, but her behaviour was not very cordial and she had a mercurial temper. He stated that the marriage was not consummated. Whenever he approached her, she spurned him. She used to threaten that she would consume poison and involve the entire family in criminal cases. On 3rd June, 2003, when she asked for permission to visit her parents and was told by his parents to go there for 2/3 days, she did not like this and consumed poison. She was rushed to the Bhoranj hospital, fro