LAKKARAJU PADMA PRIYA Vs. LAKKARAJU SHYAM PRASAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal preferred by the wife, aggrieved by the decree of dissolution of marriage granted in favour of husband on the ground of desertion under Section 13 (1) (ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act" ). The parties are referred to as "the husband" and "the wife" for the sake of convenience.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are that the parties were married on 24. 2. 1989 and they were living together at Hyderabad. During the year 1991 the wife took an employment as a private school teacher, and after some time she gave birth to a female child on 12. 8. 1993. It is alleged that while working at the school, because of heavy work, pressure and due to birth of daughter, she developed depression problem and as the said problem was recurring periodically for about three years, she was advised to take medical treatment at Visakhapatnam where her parents were residing. However, some time in the year 1996 her parents decided to shift the family to Hyderabad and she continued to live with her parents at Hyderabad and the husband continued to live separately at Guntur as the wife herself was unable to look after her day to day needs and had to depend on her parents. The husband alleged that he had shifted his practice of chartered accountancy to Guntur in order to look after his old parents and later brought the wife and daughter to Guntur on 5. 6. 2000. It is further alleged that after staying together for a month or so, the problem of depression of the wife again resurfaced and her parents took away her to Hyderabad to admit her in a reputed hospital at Hyderabad. It is alleged that since then she has been staying at Hyderabad continuously and did not join the husband at Guntur. The husband alleged that the wife had deserted him without any valid reason from 24. 7. 2000 and in effect right from the date of birth of child, out of 9 years period, she had lived with him hardly for a month and accordingly he filed the petition for divorce on the ground of desertion.

(3.) BEFORE the lower court the husband examined himself as P. W. 1 and his mother as P. W. 2 and marked Exs. A-1 and A-2 which are letters addressed by the wife dated 8. 1. 1995 and 23. 8. 1999 respectively, Ex. A-3 is the letter addressed by the wife to her husband dated 5. 6. 2002 and Ex. A-4 is the letter written by the father of the wife to the husband dated 10. 11. 2001. The wife examined herself as R. W. 1 and her mother as R. W. 2 and no document is marked on her behalf. On the basis of the aforesaid evidence of the parties, the trial court has granted a decree of divorce by accepting the case of the husband that the wife had deserted him. The said decree is in appeal at the instance of the wife.