A wife is entitled to restitution of conjugal rights if she has withdrawn from the matrimonial home due to cruelty by the husband, including physical and mental torture, demand for dowry, and filing of false complaints.

1. This is appeal by Karnail Singh against his wife, Bhupinder Kaur. It is directed against the judgment of Shri Ved Prakash. Senior Subordinate Judge, Amritsar dated December 24, 1965 dismissing petition under section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 hereinafter called the Act, filed against the respondent for restitution of conjugal rights. The facts leading to the appeal are as under:-

-

The parties were married on April 21, 1963 at Village Jalia Majra in the district of Ludhiana. After marriage, they lived together in village Bharariwal in the district of Amritsar. In the Petition filed on behalf of the husband, it is stated that in his absence the wife left his house on the occasion of Diwali in the year 1963 in the company of Lakhbir Singh and Bhagar Singh, friends of Kapur Singh, brother the wife and she carried with her clothes and ornaments and Rs. 500/- in cash and thus withdrew herself from his society. It is stated by him that inspite of several attempts made to have her restored, she did not return to his house.

2. In the written statement filed on behalf of the wife, she admitted that she was married to the appellant but denied the allegations that she had withdrawn herself from the society and her husband or had removed form his house any case, clothes or ornaments. She pleaded that it is the husband, who used to object against the inadequacy of the dowry, which she brought along with her on the occasion of her marriage and used to taunt and tease here on that score, that the husband on one occasion forcibly took away from the wife sum of Rs. 1,000/-. which amount had been given to her by her parents on the occasion of her muklawa, that she was being maltereated by the husband and was physically and mentally tortured and that her husband every now and then pressed her to extort money from her parents and to gain the end of that extortion, he used to starve her.

She stated that once her brother, Kapur singh visited her in the house of the husband and she was taunted by the husband in his presence, that it was in the presence of Lakhbir Singh that the husband demanded Rs. 5,000/- from Kapur Singh, who expressed his inability to meet the demand and that feeling annoyed over the reply given by Kapur Singh, the husband kicked off the kettle, in which water for preparation of tea for Kapur Singh, was being boiled. That consequent upon the kettle being kicked off, the boiling water fell on the left hand of the wife and her hand bore burns. She added that Kapur Singh removed her for treatment to Shri Guru Ram Das Free Hospital Amritsar. There she was treated by Dr. Bhagat Singh. She sated that during her treatment, the husband did not care to enquire about her health, although he was responsible for burning her hand. At the end she stated that a false complaint for offence under Section 420 and 506 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code was filed by the husband, in which serious and false allegations attacking her chastity were levelled against her. That complaint was filed against the said wife Dr. Bhagat Singh, Kapur Singh and Lakbhir Singh. She also added that as her husband was not caring to maintain her, she made an application under Section 488 of the Criminal Procedure Code claiming maintenance allowance from the husband.

3. The above pleadings of the parties gave rise to the following issues:-

-

(1) Whether the respondent has withdrawn from the society of the appellant without any reasonable excuse.

(2) Whether the appellant has treated the respondent with such cruelty as to cause a reasonable apprehension in her mind that it would be harmful and injurious for her to live with him.

4. In support of the above issues the husband produced Boor Singh, Shangara Singh, Ajaib Singh and Gurdial Singh apart from himself going into the witness box. In rebuttal, the wife examined Dr. Bhagat Singh, Lakhbir Singh and Kapur Singh apart from herself going into the witness box. The wife also proved Exhibit R.2 c