ASHOK KUMAR BHATNAGAR Vs. SHABNAM BHATNAGAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is petitioner-husband's Letter Patent Appeal, filed against the dismissal in limine of his appeal by a Learned Single Judge of this Court ; which appeal he had taken against the judgment dated 5th January, 1985 of the Additional District Judge, Delhi, dismissing his petition for a decree of divorce by dissolution of his marriage with the respondent filed under the provisions of Section 13(l)(ia)(ib)oftheHindu Marriage Act, 1955, as amended by the Marriage Laws (Amendment Act of 1976).

(2.) It is a case of short lived marriage between the spouses, as revealed from the facts culled from the record, inasmuch as the wedding had taken place on 7th March, 1976 whereas there has been admitted severance of relationship between them since 10th October, 1976. The petitioner came up with the allegations that the respondent had deserted him and left the matrimonial home on 10th October, 1976 with the intention of permanently abandoning the same and that this was without any reasonable cause, and without his consent ; rather against his wishes.

(3.) Petitioner went on alleging that the departure of the respondent from matrimonial home on 10th October, 1976 was with the definite resolve of not returning to the matrimonial home and that this is obvious from the fact that while leaving the house she took away practically all her clothes, valuables, jewellery and other articles. The allegation, thus, was that she had animus deserendi from the very moment, she left the house on 10th October, 1976 and that this determination subsisted throughout inasmuch as respondent never made any attempt to come back nor her parents took up any initiative to send her back and further that their intentions became clear when neither she nor her parents even sent customary greetings to the petitioner or his parents on the Diwali day, which was the first one after their marriage, and fell about 10 days of respondent having left the matrimonial home. The petitioner further alleged that in furtherance of her intention to desert the petitioner and abandon the matrimonial home, for which he pleads to have given no cause or occasion; she again visited his house on 7th November, 1976 and took away the remaining of her clothes, jewellery and other valuables, on the pretext of requiring them for the purposes of attending a relative's marriage, but never returned thereafter nor made any efforts for rapprochement.