Man gets Divorce after wife fails to give reason for Desertion

A man who has been deserted by his estranged wife was granted divorce by the honourable Delhi High Court as wife failed to give any satisfactory reasons for leaving him. The decree granted under Hindu Marriage Act is generally allowed by the Court for divorce on the ground that the spouse has deserted the other for a continuous period of two years before filing the petition.

According to the court, “Considering the facts, petitioner has succeeded in establishing the grounds of cruelty as well as desertion as under Sec. 13 (1)(ia) and (ib) of the HMA and there is no other reason under the law on account of which the husband would be denied the relief.” Accordingly, the husband is held entitled to a divorce decree on both grounds.

The court has passed the ex-parte orders in favor of the husband because the wife did not appear in spite of giving several opportunities to appear 

Brief Facts:

Both Parties got married in December 2009 and just after one month of marriage, they started living separately due to the absurd behaviour of his wife. The husband alleged that the wife used to quarrel on trivial issues and her family members had beaten him up when the husband tried to reach a compromise with his wife.

The spouse claimed that the respondent frequently threatened to ruin his life and https://www.leadindia.law/talk-to-lawyerthe lives of his family members if he forced her to have any sexual contact with him. He also stated that she had not returned since January 1, 2010.

According to the court, “The marriage appears to be dead for all intents and purposes, and the respondent clearly seems to have parted ways with the husband for good with an intention not to return”

In yet another case where the woman holds an LLM degree  and Ph.D. in law and was principal of a reputed Law College and later pursued research in Dubai who alleged in court that her husband was a compulsive drinker who used to mentally harass and humiliate her on all possible occasions.

Court, however, denied this contention as it was observed that nowhere it is mentioned what exactly happened on the day when she left. 

Another plea was also rejected by the court where the wife stated that she had to do a job in compulsion to manage the household.

Understanding:

Desertion is not a crime in India as such, but any matrimonial wrong that gives rise to ground for divorce for the partner who had been deserted for more than 2 years continuously. The Family Courts cannot force any person to perform matrimonial obligations for respective partners.

Thus, any Partner can seek divorce by taking desertion as ground under section 13 (1) (ia) and (ib) of HMA as it is considered as cruelty and the other partner can get a decree of divorce on both grounds.

Maintenance Exemption:

Section 125 (4) of CrPC deals with maintenance from husband to wife. No wife shall be entitled to receive an allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding from her husband under this Section if she is living in adultery, if she refuses to live with her husband for any reason, or if they are living separately by mutual consent, according to this section, which husbands can invoke.

Thus, cruelty and desertion are the grounds for dissolution of marriage and are considered as unjustifiable conduct in the eyes of law. Cruelty need not be physical, it can be mental cruelty as well.

Lead India helps its clients to understand the types of cruelty and the true meaning of desertion and whether maintenance is maintainable or not. We are there to guide you about your partner taking unnecessary steps against you and how you should protect yourself.