Debasish Sengupta vs Jhunu Sengupta

This revisional application arises at the instance of the husband, who filed a suit for dissolution of marriage against the wife/opposite party. In the said

suit, the opposite party filed an application for alimony under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which was registered as Miscellaneous

Case No. 38 of 2014.

When the evidence in connection with such miscellaneous case was closed, the present opposite party-wife filed an application under Section 151 of

the Code of Civil Procedure for calling the employer of the husband to depose in the case and to bring documents relating to the salary of the husband

like joining letter, salary slip etc. The said application was allowed by the impugned order dated December 15, 2017.

Being so aggrieved, the husband has preferred the present revision. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that the said application was only a ploy

to protract the litigation and is harassive in nature, in so far as calling of the employer of the petitioner was unwarranted, more so since the husband

has already filed his salary slip in connection with the miscellaneous case, which was marked as an exhibit.

It is further submitted by the petitioner that the salary slip produced by the husband in the said miscellaneous case was also adduced in evidence in

connection with a proceeding under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, where the opposite party did not object to the

veracity of such salary slip.

It is submitted on behalf of the opposite party that irrespective of the stand of the opposite party in any other proceeding, the opposite party has

squarely controverted the veracity of the salary slip of the husband in the present miscellaneous case and as such, it would be relevant to call the

employer of the husband for the purpose of proving the real income of the husband.

After perusal of the materials on record and hearing both sides, it appears that undoubtedly the application filed by the opposite party-wife was at a

very belated stage and there could be no plausible reason as to why the wife should wait for such a long time before taking out such application.

However, in any event, it would be open to the opposite party-wife to take all objections to the documents already filed by the husband in connection

with the miscellaneous case at the time of hearing of the matter.

As such, the trial court ought not to have allowed the application under Article 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure for calling the employer of the

husband at such a belated stage. Accordingly, C. O. No. 172 of 2018 is allowed by setting aside the impugned order.

However, it is made clear that any observation made herein will not prevent the opposite party-wife from taking all objections in accordance with law,

which are available to the opposite party at the time of hearing of the miscellaneous case. There will, however, be no order as to costs. Urgent

certified website copies of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance with the requisite formalities.