Mr. M.M.S. Bedi, J. (Oral):- Record has been received.

2. Defence of the respondent is already struck off.

3. The appellant-wife has preferred this appeal against judgment dated 15.03.2016 passed by the District Judge, Chandigarh, dismissing her petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce with the respondent husband.

4. Briefly stated the case of the appellant is that she was married to the respondent, who is 10-12 years older than her, under the compelling circumstances as she was having an affair with a boy belonging to Maur Mandi and had conveyed her affair to her parents.

5. Instead of permitting her to marry with said person, she was married to the respondent without taking into consideration the age difference. It is further averred in the petition that the respondent and his family members started maltreating and torturing the appellant from the very beginning and was given merciless beatings a number of times as she had disclosed about her earlier affair to the respondent and his family members.

6. She was not allowed to go out of her matrimonial house or to meet any one even in the neighborhood and was kept locked in the house. She used to remain alone in the house and did not have communication with anyone including her husband. Besides the said cruelty, she was given merciless beatings with a sole purpose to humiliate her.

7. She tolerated the said physical and mental torture expecting that the respondent would start treating her properly. It is further averred that the parents of the respondent created such circumstances that she was left with no alternative except to leave the house of respondent on 10.12.2012. She went to Patiala and thereafter came to Chandigarh and started residing at Chandigarh. She filed a petition under Section 125 Cr.P.C on 30.04.2013 which is still pending in the Court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Chandigarh.

8. The respondent contested the petition challenging the jurisdiction of the Courts at Chandigarh attributing wrong to the appellant that she had withdrawn from the society of the respondent on 10.12.2012 whereas the marriage had been solemnized on 24.11.2012. He has admitted the fact that the appellant had an affair with a boy named Rahul Kumar prior to the marriage. The appellant had approached the High Court for protection by concealing her residential address after marriage to the respondent. The appellant is not ready to live with the respondent. He has leveled allegations that she has committed theft of gold ornaments about 12 tolas as well as Rs.65,000/- from the matrimonial home in connivance with Rahul Kumar and FIR No.319 dated 28.12.2012 was got registered at Police Station City Ferozepur under Section 366 IPC. The respondent claims that he has gone in depression on account of the conduct of the appellant. It is claimed that the proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C have been initiated merely to pressurize the respondent to agree to the divorce.

On the basis of the pleading of the parties, the lower Court had framed the following issues:

“1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to seek divorce on the ground of cruelty? OPP.

2. Relief.”

9. On appreciation of evidence produced, the learned District Judge, Chandigarh dismissed the petition observing that the allegations leveled by the appellant do not sound to be reasonable and that she was required to stand on her own legs and she cannot be permitted to take benefit of the fact that the respondent has not led any evidence in rebuttal.

10. The respondent in this case has led any oral evidence to justify his conduct. Legal presumption under Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act would arise against the respondent as neither respondent nor any of his family members dared to appear before the trial Court to deny the allegations of cruelty to the appellant and to face cross-examination.

11. With the assistance of learned counsel for the appellant, we have gone through the evidence produced by the appellant