Suman Kapur vs Sudhir Kapur

3. The facts in nutshell are that the appellant Suman Kapur is the wife and respondent Sudhir Kapur is the husband. The matrimonial alliance was entered into between the parties as per Hindu rites and rituals in Delhi on March 04, 1984. It was the case of the appellant that both the parties were friends from childhood and were knowing each other since 1966. They had also studied together in the same school. They were very close since 1974 and after a friendship of more than a decade, they decided to marry. The marriage was inter-caste marriage. Though initially parents of both the parties were opposed to the marriage, subsequently, they consented. The parties have no issue from the said wedlock.

4. The appellant has a brilliant academic record and has been the recipient of the prestigious Lalor Foundation Fellowship of United States of America (USA), offered to young scientists for outstanding performance in the area of research. According to her, at the time of her marriage, she was in employment with the Department of Bio-chemistry in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and was also pursuing her Ph.D.

5. It is the case of the appellant that she conceived for the first time in 1984, within a period of about one month of the marriage, but on account of being exposed to harmful radiations as a part of lab work of her Ph.D. thesis, she decided to terminate the pregnancy. The appellant asserted that it was done with the knowledge and consent of the respondent-husband.

6. Again, in 1985, she conceived. But even that pregnancy was required to be terminated on the ground of an acute kidney infection for which she had to undergo an IVP, which entailed six abdominal X-rays and radiometric urinary reflect test with radioactive drinking dye. She claimed that even the second pregnancy was terminated with the knowledge and consent of the respondent- husband.

7. According to the appellant, third time she became pregnant in 1989, but she suffered natural abortion on account of having a congenitally small uterus and thus prone to recurrent miscarriages.

8. It is the case of the appellant that though she was well-placed and having good job in AIIMS in Delhi, only with a view to accompany her husband who was serving in Bombay, she left the job. In 1988, the parties together left for USA. The appellant was awarded Lalor Foundation Fellowship in USA for which she had to move to Kansas city and could not join the respondent-husband at the place of his work.

10. The respondent-husband, therefore, filed HMA No. 322/2001/96 in the Court of Additional District Judge, Delhi under Section 13(1)(ia) and (ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as `the Act') for getting divorce from the appellant-wife. Two grounds were taken by the respondent-husband in the said petition, i.e. (i) cruelty and (ii) desertion. It was alleged by the husband that the wife was all throughout conscious, mindful and worried of one thing and that was her career. In view of her thinking only in one direction, she deprived the respondent-husband of conjugal rights and matrimonial obligations. She also treated the family members of the respondent-husband with cruelty. She, without consent or even knowledge of the respondent- husband, got her pregnancy terminated twice in 1984 as well as in 1985 and falsely stated that there was natural miscarriage at the time of third pregnancy in 1989. At no point of time, she had taken consent of the husband nor even she had informed about the termination of pregnancy or about miscarriage to the respondent. At several occasions, she had stated that she was not interested at all in living with the respondent-husband and to perform marital obligations. She had made it explicitly clear to the respondent-husband that she was not willing to be a mother at the cost of her career. She had specifically told the respondent-husband that if he was very much interested and eager to be a father and his mother (respondent's mother) wanted to be a grand-mother, he could enter into marriage tie with any other woman, but the appellant-wife would not give up her career. She had also stated that she had no objection if the respondent adopts a child which action would not adversely affect her career. She had issued a notice to the respondent-husband that it would be better that they would peacefully separate from each other so that the respondent-husband may be able to fulfil the wishes of his parents and the appellant-wife may pursue her future career. The respondent- husband, therefore, submitted that the case attracted both the provisions, viz. (i) cruelty on the part of the wife under clause (ia) of sub-section (1) of Section 13 and (ii) desertion of matrimonial home and refusal to perform marital obligations falling under clause (ib) of sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Act. On both the grounds, the respondent- husband was entitled to a decree of divorce.

11. The appellant-wife in her objections denied the allegations of the husband. According to her, she was doing her best to please her husband as well as her in-laws. Precisely for that purpose, she had left her service in Delhi and joined the husband. It was admitted that she was in service and was also interested in career as she was well- educated lady and wanted to contribute to the society. But that did not mean that she was not performing her marital obligations. It was an admitted fact that immediately after her marriage, she conceived and she was very happy about it. Unfortunately, however, for the circumstances beyond her control, she was compelled to get the pregnancy terminated with the knowledge and consent of her husband. The same thing was repeated in 1985. In 1989, there was natural miscarriage. She also contended that she had to go to USA for receiving prestigious award of Lalor Foundation Fellowship. According to her, instead of being happy about the progress of the wife, the husband had initiated the present proceedings with jealousy and hence, he was not entitled to a decree of divorce. Even otherwise, there was no cruelty on her part. According to the wife, during regular intervals, the parties used to stay together and the appellant had never refused to perform her matrimonial obligations or even had shown her intention to deprive the husband of conjugal rights. It was, therefore, submitted that the husband was not entitled to the relief sought by him and the petition was liable to be dismissed.

14. The said order has been challenged in the present proceedings. On July 16, 2007, notice was issued by this Court. The respondent appeared and affidavit-in-reply and affidavit-in-rejoinder were thereafter filed. Considering the nature of controversy, the Registry was directed to place the matter for final hearing and accordingly, the matter has been placed before us.

35. Now, coming to the facts of the case, from the evidence of Smt. Vimal Kapur (mother- in-law of appellant-wife and mother of respondent-husband) who is examined as PW 1 and Sudhir Kapur, husband-PW 2, the trial Court held that the wife was interested in her career only and she had neglected towards matrimonial obligations and exercise of conjugal rights by the husband. The trial Court also held that termination of pregnancy by wife was without consent or even knowledge of the husband which was in the nature of mental cruelty. But keeping the said element of mental cruelty aside, the High Court was convinced that the allegation of mental cruelty towards the husband by the wife was clearly established from the evidence on record adduced by the respondent-husband. The High Court noted that the appellant-wife was constantly and continuously avoiding staying with the husband and preventing him to have matrimonial relations. From the letters of the appellant- wife also, the High Court held that it was the wife who had stated that she had completely lost interest in the marriage and she was willing to get divorce. The High Court further noted that the appellant-wife sent a notice through her advocate to the respondent-husband during the pendency of mediation proceedings in the High Court wherein she alleged that the respondent was having another wife in USA whose identity was concealed. This was based on the fact that in his income-tax return, the husband mentioned the Social Security Number of his wife as 476-15-6010, a number which did not belong to the appellant-wife, but to some American lady (Sarah Awegtalewis). The High Court, however, recorded a finding of fact accepting the explanation of the husband that there was merely a typographical error in giving Social Security Number allotted to the appellant which was 476-15-6030. According to the High Court, taking undue advantage of the error in Social Security Number, the appellant wife had gone to the extent of making serious allegation that the respondent had married to an American woman whose Social Security Number was wrongly typed in the income tax return of the respondent-husband.

(xiii) Unilateral decision of either husband or wife after marriage not to have child from the marriage may amount to cruelty.

42. She stated;

45. We find no infirmity in the approach of the High Court. The finding relating to mental cruelty recorded by the trial Court and confirmed by the High Court suffers from no infirmity and we see no reason to interfere with the said finding.

48. It is true that filing of appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution is not a right of the party. It is the discretion conferred on this Court to grant leave to the applicant to file appeal in appropriate cases. But, since the Constitution allows a party to approach this Court within a period of ninety days from an order passed by the High Court, we are of the view that no precipitate action could have been taken by the respondent-husband by creating the situation of fait accompli. Considering the matter in its entirety, though we are neither allowing the appeal nor setting aside the decree of divorce granted by the trial Court and confirmed by the appellate Court in favour of respondent-husband, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, in our opinion, ends of justice would be met if we direct the respondent-husband to pay an amount of Rs. Five lakhs to the appellant-wife. The said payment will be made on or before 31st December, 2008.

49. The appeal is disposed of accordingly. The parties will bear their own costs all throughout.