Desertion supports divorce only after it has continued continuously for two years.

The appellant-wife filed a petition under Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, alleging that her husband and his family demanded dowry and subjected her to ill-treatment, causing her to leave the matrimonial home. The parties married on 21 February 2023; the wife alleged that she left the matrimonial home in November 2023 and later gave birth to a daughter

The husband appeared but did not file objections. The Family Court dismissed the petition, finding that cruelty and the statutory period of desertion had not been proved

The wife appealed under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984

1. Whether the wife established cruelty by the husband sufficient to warrant interference with the Family Court’s judgment?

2. Whether the wife established desertion for the statutory period of two years, and whether the Family Court’s dismissal of her petition should be set aside?

The Court considered Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, under which cruelty is a ground for divorce, and Section 13(1)(ib), which requires desertion to continue for at least two years without lawful excuse

It also considered Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, as the basis for the appeal.

The Court held that the wife’s testimony was not supported by independent witnesses and that she had not lodged a complaint regarding the alleged dowry demand or ill-treatment; it therefore concluded that cruelty had not been proved

As to desertion, the Court reasoned that the required two-year period had not elapsed when the petition was filed. The judgment describes the petition, filed on 28 March 2024, as having been filed within one year of the marriage on 21 February 2023; however, those stated dates are more than one year apart.

It also disposed of any pending interlocutory applications as no longer surviving for consideration.