IMPORTANT POINT
The court emphasized that allegations of cruelty and desertion must be substantiated with clear evidence, and unchallenged claims do not warrant dissolution of marriage.

JUDGMENT :

R. Mukhopadhyay, J.

Heard Mr. Samir Kumar Lall, learned counsel appearing for the appellant and Mr. Parambir Singh Bajaj, learned counsel appearing for the respondent.

2. This appeal is directed against the judgment and decree dated 26.11.2018 (decree signed on 07.12.2018) passed by Sri Brajesh Kumar Gautam, learned Principal Judge, Family Court, Ranchi in Original Suit No. 706 of 2017 whereby and whereunder the suit preferred by the respondent herein for dissolution of his marriage with the appellant has been allowed and the marriage between them has been dissolved with a direction to the respondent herein to pay one time permanent alimony of Rs. 5,00,000/- within a period of three months.

3. For the sake of convenience, both the parties are referred to in this judgment as per their status before the learned trial court.

4. A suit was preferred by the petitioner (respondent herein) under Section 13 (1) (i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 seeking dissolution of marriage with the respondent (appellant herein) in which it has inter-alia been stated that the marriage of the petitioner was solemnized with the respondent on 11.07.2008 as per Hindu rites and customs and after the marriage both started residing together at Shivpuri, Lower Chutia, Ranchi. It has been stated that the first wife of the petitioner has died a natural death in April 2007 and a child was earlier born to the couple on 06.09.2006. The petitioner had narrated the story about his earlier marriage and nothing was suppressed and thereafter the respondent had agreed to marry the petitioner. Out of the said wedlock of the petitioner and the respondent, a female child namely Vaishnavi was born on 06.07.2015. It has been stated that the marital life was running smoothly, but after some years, the behaviour of the respondent towards the petitioner changed and he was subjected to physical and mental torture. In spite of the best efforts made by the petitioner to pacify the situation the behaviour of the respondent continued to be rude. It has been stated that the parents and brother of the respondent always used to provoke the respondent to bring money and other household articles from the petitioner. The respondent is a short-tempered lady and always behaved cruelly with the petitioner. In fact the respondent had shown her reluctance to do household chores on the pretext that she belongs to a high-class modern society. The behaviour of the respondent towards her mother-in-law and the son of the petitioner born from his first marriage was also cruel. The respondent always used to insist upon the petitioner to have a separate kitchen, get the house registered in his name and send her mother-in-law to an old age home and the son born out of his first marriage to a hostel. It has been stated that the petitioner has got the compassionate appointment and is living in a house registered in the name of his father. The respondent had repeatedly threatened the petitioner and his family members of implicating them in false criminal cases on account of the refusal on the part of the petitioner to sell off the gold jewelleries of his mother and give the proceeds to the parents of the respondent. On 03.09.2015, the respondent had quarrelled with the petitioner and had assaulted him which resulted in fracture of the wrist of the petitioner and after calling her father as well as the husband of her sister took her stree-dhan and other household articles including the gold ornaments of her mother-in-law as well as documents relating to the house and went back to her parents' place at Jamshedpur. It has been stated that the petitioner is living separately from the respondent since 04.09.2015 and in spite of the repeated efforts made by the petitioner to bring back the respondent and resume a normal conjugal life is frustrated on account of the demands put forward by the respondent. A meeting was also convened in which the parents and the husband of the sister of the husband wer