BEFORE THE HON’BLE FAMILY COURT AT BANDRA

MUMBAI

Petition No. A-___________OF 2013

Mrs. ABC )

Aged 30 years, Occ.: Service )

An adult Indian inhabitant )

Residing at: _____, Mumbai ) . . . Petitioner

Versus

Shri. XYZ )

Aged years, Occ. : Service )

An adult Indian inhabitant )

Having address at _____ )

Bangalore ) . . . Respondent

Petition under Section 13 (1) (ia) r/w Section 25 of the

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

To,

The Hon’ble Principal Judge and

other judges of this Hon’ble Court

Humble Petition of the Petitioner above named.

The Petitioner most humbly submits as under:-

1. The Petitioner and the Respondents are Hindus and both are governed by the

provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as amended upto date.

2. The Petitioner then a spinster was _____ years old and the Respondent then a

bachelor was _______ years old married on _________ at __________________

according to Hindu Vedic Rites and Ceremonies in the presence of their respective

parents and family friends, relatives and the said marriage is not registered. Hereto

annexed and marked as Exhibit A is the copy of the wedding invitation card of the

Petitioner and Exhibit B is the joint wedding photographs of the Petitioner and

Respondent. The said marriage is an arranged marriage.

3. The maiden name of the Petitioner was ___________ daughter of Shri.

______________.

4. There is no issue out of said wedlock.

5. The Petitioner states that prior to the marriage, engagement ceremony was held at

Bokaro. The Petitioner submits that the parents of the Petitioner are employed as

professor and have limited source of income and savings, as they have spent a lot

on education of the Petitioner and her brother. In view of this, during the

engagement ceremony itself, parents of the Petitioner informed the Respondent and

his parents that they would not be able to make extravagant arrangements and

would prefer a simple marriage ceremony.

6. The Petitioner submits that, however, on insistence of Respondent and his parents,

parents of the Petitioner were compelled to arrange a grand wedding. Thus, parents

of the Petitioner had to spend an amount of Rs. 30,00,000/- (Rs. Thirty Lakhs) on

the wedding ceremony apart from Rs. 6,00,000/- worth of cash and jewelry

presented to the Respondent and his parents. Apart from this, there was also

demand of a four wheeler from the Respondent which the Petitioner’s father had to

fulfill by taking four wheeler on loan.

7. The Petitioner states that, after solemnization of marriage, the Petitioner and the

Respondent stayed for some days at Bokaro and after that, as per suggestion of the

Respondent, the Petitioner was constrained to return to Mumbai, where she was

employed.

8. The Petitioner states that at the time of solemnization of marriage, the Petitioner was

employed in Mumbai and the Respondent was based at Bangalore. Since, the

Respondent was employed at Bangalore, even prior to marriage, the Petitioner

initiated the process of transfer of her employment to Bangalore, which was naturally

taking some time, because of certain peculiar characteristics of software industry.

The Petitioner says that, post solemnization of marriage, with dreams of happy

married life, the Petitioner hastily got herself transferred from Mumbai to Bangalore

so that she could join the company of the Respondent at the earliest. The Petitioner

reached Bangalore on 29th April, 2012. Since the city was entirely new to the

Petitioner, the Petitioner requested the Respondent to receive her at the railway

station.

9. The Petitioner submits that, to the utter surprise of the Petitioner, the Petitioner

realized that, when the Respondent reached railway station to receive the Petitioner,

he was totally drunk. The Petitioner when protested politely about this, the

Respondent made a false pretext that, his mouth smelled because of a teeth

infection. When the Petitioner reminded the Respondent that, before marriage, he

had informed the Petitioner that he does not drink and smoke and that he hated

drinkers, the Respondent hurled abuses at the Petitioner and also used abusive

language about her parents. The Petitioner felt extremely humiliated due to the

behaviour of the Respondent. However, since she was a helpless woman totally new

to the town, she had to listen to the dictates of the Respondent and accompany him

to his rented accommodation.

10. The Petitioner says that, when the Petitioner reached the rented premises at

Bangalore, she found the room to be in utterly disgusting condition. The Respondent
 forced the Petitioner, a new bride, to clean the entire premises on her own on the

very first day of her entry. The Petitioner felt extreme agony due to the indifferent

behaviour of the Respondent towards her. Finally, a week after the arrival of the

Petitioner, with much persuasion, the Respondent agreed to change the premises.

11. The Petitioner says that, after shifting to new rented premises, in or about 2 nd week

of May 2012, the Respondent threatened the Petitioner that, she should bring Rs.

2,00,000/- (Rs. Two lakhs) from her parents for purchase of new furniture in the

house and that if she failed to yield to his demands, the Respondent would commit

suicide and leave a suicide note that, he had committed suicide because of the

Petitioner. The Petitioner further states that the Petitioner was so vulnerable that,

she requested her father to immediately arrange for Rs. 2,00,000/-(Rs. Two Lakhs)

for fulfilling the demands of the Respondent. Finally, one week later, father of the

Petitioner arranged the said amount and paid to the Respondent to avoid the

threatened consequences.

12. The Petitioner states that the Petitioner had to leave house by 8 a.m. in the morning

for job purposes and she returned late at around 8 p.m. at night from job. The

Respondent had informed the Petitioner that, he usually left for job at 10 a.m. and

returned by 7 p.m. The Petitioner states that, however, every day, when the

Petitioner returned from work, she found the Respondent lying on the floor in

inebriated state under influence of alcohol. The Respondent also woke up late in the

morning due to the influence of alcohol. The Petitioner says that, due to this,

marriage between the Petitioner and the Respondent could not be consummated till

her leaving the house of the Respondent permanently. Thus, the Respondent,

without any fault on the part of the Petitioner, deprived the Petitioner of the marital

bliss and company of the Respondent.

13. The Petitioner says that, since it was a new marriage and the Petitioner genuinely

believed that, the Respondent might change with persuasion, the Petitioner often

tried to communicate with the Respondent by various means like inviting him for
 dinner with her. However, whenever the Petitioner invited the Respondent to take

dinner with her or tried to make any other communication with the Respondent, the

Respondent abused her and also used abusive language about her parents without

any reasons. Further, the Respondent did not undertake any household

responsibilities and also did not contribute any money towards day to day expenses

of the household.

14. The Petitioner says that, she informed her parents as also the parents of the

Respondent about the above said behaviour of the Respondent. However, the

parents of the Respondent paid no heed to the grievances of the Petitioner and her

parents and suggested the Petitioner to adjust to the situation.

15. In or about mid May 2012, the Petitioner requested the Respondent to allow her to

join Art of Living meditation course and also suggested the Respondent to join the

said course to help him to get rid of addiction to liquor and lead a happy married life.

The Petitioner submits that, upon this request, the Respondent hurled innumerable

abuses at the Petitioner and also made a serious allegation on the Petitioner that,

the Petitioner was insisting upon joining the said course just because the Petitioner

wanted to have physical relations with other men. The Petitioner remained aghast at

the unfounded allegations made on her character by the Respondent and finally

decided not to join the art of living course to please the Respondent. The Petitioner

immediately informed about this incident to the parents of the Respondent and her

parents. However, the parents of the Respondent pleaded their helplessness and

requested the Petitioner to forgive their son for his behaviour.

16. The Petitioner says that, when the Respondent learnt about communication of the

Petitioner with his parents, the Respondent thrashed the Petitioner and locked her in

the bathroom for the whole day without food or water. Finally, after many requests,

the Respondent unlocked the bathroom and allowed the Petitioner to come out.
17. The Petitioner says that, in the last week of May, 2012, one day, the Petitioner

returned early from work at around 6 P. M. and found the Respondent lying in

inebriated state in the bedroom. Since, the Respondent had informed the Petitioner

that, he left for job at around 10: 30 A. M. and returned around 7 P. M., the Petitioner

made enquiries with the cook in the house. To her utter surprise, the Petitioner was

informed by the cook that, for the preceding 3 months i.e., from March, 2012 till May,

2012, the Respondent had not left house for job and that, every day after the

Petitioner left house, the Respondent consumed liquor and remained in inebriated

state the whole day. The cook further informed the Petitioner that, the Respondent

had in fact borrowed Rs. 50/- from the cook for consuming liquor and also sold

articles of house in the past for consuming liquor.

18. The Petitioner states that, upon hearing this, the Petitioner immediately checked the

phone records of the Respondent and found several messages from his office

complaining about his absenteeism and requesting him to resume duties

immediately.

19. The Petitioner states that, the Petitioner immediately enquired with the Respondent

regarding the reasons/problems for his not attending the office and consuming liquor

whole day long. The Respondent was so angry at the enquiry that, he abused the

Petitioner in utter filthy languages. The Respondent went further and broke the glass

of the dining table, pulled up/picked a piece of glass, chocked the Petitioner’s throat

and threatened to eliminate her if she again made any enquiries with the

Respondent. The Respondent further threatened the Petitioner to bring Rs.

2,00,000/- from her parents if she wished to stay in the house.

20. The Petitioner again informed about this incident to the mother of Respondent on

phone. His mother, instead of giving good advice to her son, abused the Petitioner

and her parents on phone and made further demand of Rs. 5,00,000/- from the

Petitioner.
21. The Petitioner submits that, on the next day, when the Respondent learnt that the

Petitioner had made complaints to his mother, he thrashed the Petitioner, pushed

her down, caught her by her leg, pulled her to the door and threw her out of the

house. The Respondent threatened her to leave the complex immediately and not to

enter the house again. The Petitioner was so afraid that, she was forced to

apologize to the Respondent and to make requests him to allow her entry in the

house. Finally, after about an hour or so, the Petitioner was allowed to enter the

house. This incident also left a deep scar on the mind of the Petitioner.

22. The Petitioner says that, these incidences convinced the Petitioner that, it was not

safe for her to stay with the Respondent under one roof. Thus, the Petitioner

requested her company to revert her transfer to Mumbai. The Petitioner could not

dare to leave the house permanently because the Respondent had threatened the

Petitioner that, he had employed agencies to keep watch on the Petitioner’s

movements and that, if the Petitioner tried to speak to anybody regarding the ill-

treatment meted out to her, he would get herself and her family members eliminated.

To convince the Petitioner about his capacity to bring the threats into reality, the

Respondent actually informed the Petitioner that he was aware about timings and

details of movements of the Petitioner’s parents and other family members and that,

he could easily get them eliminated. Thus, the Petitioner had no option, but to suffer

humiliation at the hands of the Respondents.

23. The Petitioner says that, fortunately, on 2 nd June, 2012, engagement ceremony of

one of relatives of the Petitioner was fixed at Delhi and the Petitioner was invited to

the ceremony. The Petitioner somehow convinced the Respondent regarding the

importance of the ceremony and necessity of attending it. Thus, on 2 nd June, 2012,

the Petitioner along with the Respondent left for Delhi for attending the ceremony.

24. The Petitioner says that, on reaching Delhi, the Petitioner gathered courage and told

her parents and other relatives about the continuous torture and ill - treatment being

meted out to her. Thereupon, the parents and relatives of the Petitioner had a
 discussion with the Respondent and tried to persuade him to mend his ways. The

Respondent agreed that, he would not further ill-treat the Petitioner and would

concentrate on the work. Since the Petitioner had some work in the company office

at Mumbai regarding her transfer, it was agreed that, the Respondent would proceed

to Bangalore and the Petitioner would be given some time for her return.

25. The Petitioner states that, as soon as the Petitioner reached Mumbai, the

Respondent again telephoned the Petitioner and informed her that, she should not

return to Bangalore and that he did not want the Petitioner to return to him. After this,

the Petitioner was left with no option and had to re-join her company’s Mumbai office

and to continue her job there.

26. The Petitioner submits that, thereafter, just to create records, the Respondent wrote

e-mails to the Petitioner suggesting co-habitation. However, at the same time, he

called the Petitioner and her relatives and threatened them not to send the Petitioner

back to Bangalore. It is further stated that the Respondent engaged in derogatory

and demeaning communication with the Petitioner, which was full of bad words and

abuses from his side.

27. In fact, just to harass the family and relatives of the Petitioner, the Respondent

deliberately made unsuccessful attempts to stop marriage of one of the cousins of

the Petitioner namely, Ms. ______________ who married recently.

28. The Petitioner submits that, in fact, in his e-mail dated 12 th November, 2012 issued

for the purpose of creating record in his favour, the Respondent suggested to the

Petitioner that, he and the Petitioner should obtain divorce by mutual consent and

that he was ready for the same. Without prejudice to any legal rights of the Petitioner

and without condoning any instance of torture, physical and mental cruelty on the

part of the Respondent and to avoid wasting of energy in legal battle, the Petitioner

sent a letter/notice dated 05/02/2013 through her advocate to the Respondent

indicating her readiness and willingness to obtain divorce by mutual consent. The
 Respondent has received the said letter/notice, however, has failed to send any

reply to the said letter/notice till date.

29. The Petitioner submits that, the Respondent is employed in _____ as Team Leader

and is earning salary of Rs.10,00,000/- p.a., apart from other allowances. The

Respondent has no dependents to look after. The Petitioner is employed at Mumbai

as Software Engineer and her salary is much less as compared to the Respondent.

Thus, the Petitioner, being legally wedded wife of the Respondent, is also entitled to

permanent alimony of Rs. 50,000,00/- from the Respondent.

30. The Petitioner submits that, in view of the above, it is clear that, the Respondent

does not have any bonding with or care for the Petitioner and that the marriage is

unworkable. The Petitioner is also convinced that, it is not conducive for her mental

and physical wellbeing to co-habit with the Respondent.

31. In the premises aforesaid, the Petitioner states that the Respondent has treated her

with severe cruelty so much so that she still suffers from the effect of physical and

mental violence showered upon her by the Respondent and the Petitioner is now

apprehensive that it is hazardous and dangerous for her to continue in living with the

Respondent and to live with him is a threat to her physically and mental wellbeing

and equilibrium. The Petitioner further submits that her marriage with the

Respondent is irretrievably broken. As per the facts and circumstances as stated

above the Petitioner therefore submits that she is entitled to a decree for dissolution

of her marriage with the Respondent on the grounds of cruelty and in the alternative

to the aforesaid relief, the Petitioner is entitled to a decree for judicial separation

from the Respondent.

32. In view of the cruel treatment given by the Respondent to the Petitioner and the way

she is tortured by the Respondent both physically and mentally as mentioned

hereinabove, the Petitioner submits that she is entitled for a decree of divorce as

prescribed under section 13 (1) (i a) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as amended upto
 date and in the alternative to the aforesaid relief the Petitioner is entitled for a decree

of judicial separation as prescribed under section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act,

1955, as amended upto date.

33. The Petitioner states that neither she nor the Respondent has filed any petition in

the past in this Hon’ble Court or in any other Court in India for any relief in respect of

the said marriage or any proceedings are pending in any court in respect of the said

marriage.

34. The Petitioner states that there is no collusion or connivance between the Petitioner

and the Respondent to obtain the reliefs in respect of the said marriage between

them and regarding filing of the present petition or any relief as claimed herein.

35. The Petitioner states that there is no delay in instituting this proceeding and there is

no legal ground for refusing any of the reliefs prayed for by the Petitioner herein. The

Petitioner has not condoned any act of the cruelty of the Respondent towards her.

36. The Petitioner submits that, the cause of action for filing the present Petition

occurred every time when the Respondent treated the Petitioner with cruelty as

aforesaid and is continuing till date.

37. The Petitioner states that the Petitioner is residing within the jurisdiction of the

Hon’ble Court at the address mentioned in the cause title of the Petition and hence,

as per provisions of Section 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, this court has

jurisdiction to entertain, try and decide the present Petition.

38. The Petitioner being a lady/female is exempted from payment of court fee in respect

of matrimonial proceedings.

39. The Petitioner will rely upon the documents a list whereof is annexed hereto.
40. It is therefore prayed that :

a) The marriage between the Petitioner and the Respondent solemnized on

01/03/2012 may kindly be dissolved by decree of divorce in favour of the
Petitioner and against the Respondent on the ground of the Respondent’s cruelty
under section 13 (1) (i a) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as amended up to date.
b) Or in the alternative without prejudice to the aforesaid prayer that the Decree of
Judicial separation be granted to the Petitioner as prescribed under section 10 of
the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as amended up to date.

c) The Respondent may kindly be directed to pay permanent alimony of Rs.

50,000,00/- to the Petitioner.

d) The cost of the present proceedings may kindly be granted in favour of the
Petitioner.

e) Interim relief in respect of prayer clause (c) may kindly be granted.

f) Any other just and necessary order in the interest of justice may kindly be
passed.

Place:
Date: Petitioner

Advocate for Petitioner