The Allahabad High Court ruled in a landmark decision that the partners' decision to live apart while seeking employment did not amount to cruelty or desertion and therefore living separately for jobs does not amount to desertion and it is not admissible as a reason for divorce.
Jutice Sumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Donadi Ramesh, who sit on a division bench, handed down the decision yesterday, dismissing a man's appeal against the Kanpur Family Court's denial of his divorce case on this basis.
What Is Desertion as a Ground of Divorce?
- Desertion as a ground for divorce is provided under Section 13(1) (b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
- Moreover, if the estranged spouse has committed adultery against the aggrieved party within a period of two years prior to the filing of the divorce petition, the aggrieved party may be in some case be eligible to get a decree of divorce from the court of law.
- Legal definition of desertion is the deliberate and wilful renunciation of one spouse's spousal duties by the other without justification. It includes not just the actual leaving but also the desertion spouse's agreement and lack of desire to return.
What is the Case?
- In Arvind Singh Sengar v Smt. Prabha Singh, this particular case stated that the petitioner argued that for the previous twenty-one years, the parties had been living apart.
- The respondent, the appellant's wife, was chosen to become a primary teacher in 2000, while the appellant was employed at the relevant time as a loco pilot in Jhansi.
- She was assigned to a school in the Auraiya district, which was only two kilometres from the appellant's ancestral home.
- Afterwards, in 2007, the spouse filed for divorce on the grounds of abuse and desertion.
- The respondent refuted that assertion, stating that her spouse had paid her a visit during her hospital stay.
- When the respondent was given medical leave, the appellant also went to the school with the respondent.
Observation by the Allahabad High Court
- The respondent-wife had testified, the court noted, about her husband visiting her in June 2003 when she was sick and then went to her school to file for medical leave.
- The Court decided that the Family Court had reasonable grounds to doubt the claim that the respondent had abandoned the appellant in June 2003.
- In light of the circumstances that the respondent was working 2kms away from the appellant's ancestral house and the fact that her seeking for a job in Auraiya was within the sights of the appellant.
- Even though the respondent-wife was the target of accusations of cruelty, the court noted that the respondent had provided proof of the appellant's harshness when the appellant was unable to establish his case.
As so, the Court upheld its decision to dismiss the appellant-husband's divorce case.
In India, the use of desertion as a reason for divorce enables individuals in unescapable marriages to take legal action and move on with their lives. However, in order to successfully obtain a decree of divorce on the grounds of desertion, one has to satisfy certain legal criteria and adduce ample evidence in a court of law. While seeking divorce may not be an easy process, it however offers a way out of very disturbing and intolerable marriages and helps people seek happiness and joy elsewhere. Divorce proceedings may require an intuitive touch, understanding, and consideration of fair and just end result for all concerned.
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