Srinivasan, J.

1. Though the appearance of Senior counsel for the appellant resulted in illuminating arguments on an interesting question of law, after going through the records, I found that the question of law did not arise in this case. I will refer to it in detail after setting out the facts which brought the appeal to this court.

2. The respondent herein filed a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, praying for a decree for restitution of conjugal rights. No doubt, the prayer goes a little further and seeks a direction to the appellant herein to go and live with her. It is rather curious to pray for a direction to the husband to go and live with the wife as in this State, normally, the wife goes and lives with the husband wherever he is and not the other way about. Any way, the frame of the prayer does not affect the merits of the case.

3. The averments found in the petition were that the respondent married the appellant according to the Hindu Sastric rites and customs prevailing in the community and the marriage took place in the residence of the respondent's father at Chinnathirupati on 27-1-1980. The petition went on to state that as the appellant was emp