Case Note & Summary
This appeal arose from the judgment and decree of the Family Court No. 2, Bandra, dissolving the marriage solemnized on 14 May 1992 between the appellant-wife and respondent-husband under Section 13(1)(i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and awarding maintenance of Rs. 2000 per month for the minor child Vidyalakshmi. The respondent-husband had filed a petition seeking divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion. The Family Court refused to grant a decree on the ground of cruelty but found desertion proved. The parties were employed; the husband worked with Bank of Baroda and the wife as a typist in Western Railway. They resided with the husband’s parents at Andheri. A female child was born on 2 March 1993. The husband alleged that the wife was non-cooperative, disrespectful towards his parents, and money-minded. He cited incidents such as her refusal to buy a milk bottle cleaner worth Rs. 10–12 without payment, and manhandling of his mother in August 1994. In January 1995, the wife allegedly went on a hunger strike and, on 29 January 1995, left the matrimonial home with her father and brother, taking the child and her belongings, leaving behind her wedding saree and the child’s dresses. She later collected her ornaments from the locker and signed a receipt, indicating animus to desert. The wife denied all allegations. She stated that the flat was small, privacy was lacking, and she was burdened with household chores. She claimed her salary was only Rs. 1750 and that she handed over her first salary to the husband’s father, with Rs. 1000 deducted monthly for household expenses. She contended she cooperated but the in-laws were never satisfied. The legal issues involve whether the wife’s departure constituted desertion with the requisite animus deserendi, and the propriety of the maintenance award. Arguments from both sides center on the factual matrix of alleged cruelty and the voluntary nature of the wife’s departure. The court’s analysis and final decision are not fully captured in the available text, but the appeal challenges the Family Court’s findings.
Issue of Consideration
Whether the Family Court was justified in granting a decree of divorce on the ground of desertion under Section 13(1)(i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and whether the maintenance awarded for the minor child is adequate
Law Points
- Desertion under Section 13(1)(i-b) of the Hindu Marriage Act
- 1955 requires both factum of separation and animus deserendi
- cruelty not proved under Section 13(1)(i-a)
- maintenance for minor child under Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act
- 1955
