Divorce granted on wife’s failure to provide valid reason

Recently in the case of Debanada Tamuli v Smt. Kakumoni (2022), Supreme Court  Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka granted divorce on the ground of desertion as the wife was staying away from her matrimonial house and did not give any valid reason for doing so.

Facts of the case:

The couple had been staying separately since 2009 and during this period the wife visited her matrimonial house only once.

The husband visited the District Court against the wife on the grounds of cruelty, but his petition was dismissed by the Court.

Later, he approached the Guwahati High Court, but his appeal was again dismissed.

Thus, the husband appealed to the Supreme Court of India

The Apex Court noted that during this period the wife visited her matrimonial house only once, hence it could be said that there was no cohabitation.

Also, the court observed that through the facts of the case the factum of separation has been proved and there was animus deserendi on the part of the wife.

 It was reiterated by the Bench that the meaning of desertion is intentional abandonment of the spouse without the consent of the other spouse without any valid reason.

The Court partly allowed the appeal and dissolved the marriage, while directing the husband to pay an amount of Rupees 15,00,000.

Ground for Divorce- Desertion: 

Under Section 13 (1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 desertion has been provided as a ground of divorce. It means the desertion of the petitioner by the other party without any reasonable ground and without the consent of the petitioner. 

Basically there are four elements which are considered for an act to be called desertion. These are- 

The fact of separation,i.e. factum deserendi

The intention to desert,i.e. animus  deserendi

Absence of consent 

Absence of conduct which led the other party to desert

In the case of Bipin Chandra v Prabhavati, the Supreme Court has observed that the definition of the term ‘desertion’ has been aptly defined in the Halsbury’s Law of England, which explains desertion as not only the withdrawal from a place but from a state of things, from what is recognised as the common obligations of the married state.

Desertion could be actual or constructive. In actual desertion, there is a complete forsaking of matrimonial home while in the case of constructive desertion there is a forsaking of the matrimonial relationship, it could amount to cruelty also. The forsaking of the matrimonial relationship must also be with the intention to desert. Thus, small wear and tears of the matrimonial relation won’t be counted as grounds for desertion.

If by word or action, one spouse makes the other spouse leave the relationship, then a party leaving the house would not be the deserter, but the spouse making him to leave the house would be called the deserter.

Thus, desertion could not be just defined as the act of leaving the house or the relationship, but to understand the facts of every case properly and then it should be decided as to which party is actually responsible for leaving the matrimonial relationship.

In the case of Vinod v Smt. Sangeeta, after living for a short period of a week only the wife left her husband’s house, the husband filed for divorce on the grounds of desertion and cruelty by the wife. However the husband and his family in this case were convicted on a complaint filed under Section 498A and 406 of the IPC. The Court decided the conviction proves that the wife had ample reasons to leave the matrimonial house and would not amount to desertion on the part of the wife. 

Thus, desertion could not be defined in a set pattern, the court has to decide whether the said party is a deserter or was forced to leave the matrimonial house and thus was deserted, it depends on the facts of the different cases.

Lead India provides a team of advocates who have years long experience in dealing with cases related to family laws, marriage, divorce, domestic violence, dowry cases, etc. If you are going through problems in your marriage and are unable to decide about your marriage, you can contact us for any legal advice or guidance.