THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN AND THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE P.SREE SUDHA FAMILY COURT APPEAL No.204 of 2012

JUDGMENT:

(per Hon’ble Smt. Justice P.Sree Sudha)

This Family Court Appeal is filed against the Order dated

17.10.2011 in O.P.No.1012 of 2008 passed by the learned Family Court Judge, Ranga Reddy District at L.B.Nagar, Hyderabad.

2. One Ch.Shoba Rani/wife filed O.P for divorce against her husband M.Seenaiah/respondent under Section 13 (ia) and (ib) of Hindu Marriage Act on the ground of cruelty and desertion. The petitioner in the trial Court examined herself as P.W.1 and marked Exs.A1 to A15. Respondent examined himself as R.W.1. The trial Court after considering the oral and documentary evidence on record dismissed the petition. Aggrieved by the said Order, petitioner therein preferred the present appeal.

3. There was no representation on behalf of the respondent on 01.02.2024 and also on 15.02.2024, in spite of conditional order, and the notice sent to the respondent returned unserved with an endorsement ‘addressee left’ as such this Court heard the arguments of appellant Counsel on 15.02.2024 and reserved the matter for Judgment. Perused the entire record.

4. The parties herein are referred as petitioner/wife and respondent/husband as arrayed before the trial Court for the sake of convenience.

5. The marriage of the petitioner with respondent was performed on 15.02.1997 and it was an arranged marriage and it was consummated. At the time of marriage, it was informed that the respondent is owner of two ambulances. Later she came to know that he is in debts and many financiers are trying to catch him at residence. She also came to know that in her absence, the respondent was bringing his friends and financiers in their house for drinking sessions. The respondent has sold her gold ornaments to meet out his debts and vices. He became regular drinker of alcohol. On 21^st ceremony of the daughter, the respondent pushed out the father of the petitioner from the function. The respondent shifted his resident to Ameerpet and started absconding from house from 3 to 7 days without caring to pay the house rent and groceries. On the eve of festival, the petitioner’s father took her and her child to market and brought one pair of clothes to each. After he came to know the same, the respondent poured kerosene over her body and threatened to set fire. With the intervention of neighbors, the police of SR Nagar took both of them to the police station and the police did not register any case as the petitioner was reluctant to give complaint.

6. The appellant/petitioner contended that the respondent arranged two abortions stating that he want a male child. However, she gave birth to second female child and he became more aggressive and arrogant and started drinking sessions in the house, whenever she went to her work. When she returned from her duty, she found that the respondent and his friends were drinking alcohol in the house. When she questioned the same, the respondent became more aggressive and pushed her out on 08.02.2006 and from then the respondent did not visit the petitioner’s house and did not visit the children.

7. In the counter filed by the respondent, he denied all the allegations and he admitted that prior to the marriage, he was the owner of two ambulances vide bearing Nos.AP 9T 5123 and AP 9T 9054. After the marriage, the two ambulances were met with an accident and the respondent was not in a position to maintain the ambulances and he sold the ambulances to third parties. He further denied that he was not having any debts and there is no need for him to sell the gold ornaments and he never poured kerosene over her and threatened her. The petitioner without giving any information to him, went to her parents’ house along with the children in the month of March, 2007 but not in the month of February 2006. When the respondent returned to the house, he was shocked by seeing the room door locked and he enquired the neighb