C O M M O N J U D G M E N T

(Judgment of the Court was made by R.VIJAYAKUMAR, J.)

The husband has filed H.M.O.P.No.507 of 2013 before the Family Court, Madurai for the relief of divorce on the ground of cruelty. The wife had filed HMOP.No.910 of 2015 before the same Court for the relief of restitution of conjugal rights.

2.The learned Family Court Judge was pleased to allow the petition filed by the wife for restitution of conjugal rights and dismissed the petition filed by the husband for divorce. Challenging the orders in both the petitions, the husband had filed the above appeals.

3.The allegations of the husband in the divorce petition are as follows:

(i)The couple got married as per Hindu Customs on 24.02.2012 at Thiruparangundram, Madurai. The marriage was performed suppressing the fact that the wife was affected with leprosy.

(ii)During nuptial night, the wife had informed that she is not interested in this marriage and she was forced to marry him only under the threat of her parents. Therefore, the marriage was not initially consummated.

(iii)The wife used to get up early in the morning and used to weep and this caused agony and mental cruelty to the husband. She used to abuse her mother-in-law in filthy language. When she visited her parental home, she used to stay there for weeks together without any information.

(iv)During the panchayat on 27.04.2012, the relative of the wife threatened the husband and his mother that he would shoot them and this caused apprehension in the minds of the husband and his mother.

(v)The wife, her parents and her brother used to engage rowdies to threaten the husband and his mother.

(vi)On two different occasions, the wife had threatened that she is going to commit suicide since she was forced to marry him by her parents.

(vii)On 22.05.2012 she along with her brother and rowdy elements came in a Van and took away her jewels and dresses. The rowdy elements were armed with aruval and dangerous weapons and therefore, the husband and his mother got frightened.

(viii)From the said date onwards, she is staying in her parental home and she has not responded to the calls made by the husband requesting for returning to the matrimonial home.

(ix)Two panchayats were held in the month of August 2013 and after much persuasion, the wife had agreed to return to the matrimonial home on

17.08.2013 but she never turned up.

(x)On 18.08.2013, the wife made a phone call to the husband stating that she had started a business and she is not interested in coming back to the matrimonial home and she would not bother about any legal proceedings against her. The husband had filed a divorce petition on the ground of mental cruelty and also on the ground that the wife is suffering from incurable form of leprosy.

4.The summary of the defence on the side of the wife is as follows:

(i)The wife had strongly refuted that she is the affected with leprosy.

(ii)She further contended that she had never threatened to commit suicide.

Only the husband is not interested in the sexual relationship and the allegations as against the wife in this regard are false.

(iii)The wife had never used any filthy language as against her husband or her mother-in-law. It is true that the panchayat took place on 27.04.2012, but no such untoward incident happened on the said date as alleged in the divorce petition.

(iv)She had further disputed the allegation that she used to stay for a longer period at her parental house without any information.

(v)The wife had stoutly disputed the allegation that she had engaged some rowdy elements to threaten her mother in law. She had further disputed the the allegation that her brother and some rowdy elements went to the matrimonial home on 25.12.2012 to take away her personal belongings from the matrimonial home.

(vi)It is true that a panchayat took place in August 2013, but the other allegations are false. The wife was sent out of the matrimonial home by the husband and his mother, but she is always willing to reunite with her h