Whether the (separate living) wife visiting to the matrimonial home for the last rituals of mother-in –law can prove the resumption of marital relation between Husband and Wife?
Shubham Budhiraja
(Advocate, Delhi High
Court)
A and B married in
June 2009. After 13 days, both are living separately till today. Though she
came to visit matrimonial home at time of mother in law death The Supreme Court held that desertion is proved because both
never went to consummate the marriage and were living separately from beginning
till today. The intention of visiting matrimonial home for 1 day was not to
resume the marriage but to attend the last rituals of mother in law. The
husband never filed restitution of conjugal rights either. Hence, desertion
proved[1].
(I)
The reasons for a dispute between husband and
wife are always very complex. Every matrimonial dispute is different from
another. Whether a case of desertion is established or not will depend on the
peculiar facts of each case. It is a matter of drawing an inference based on
the facts brought on record by way of evidence.
(II)
The desertion means the intentional abandonment
of one spouse by the other without the consent of the other and without a
reasonable cause. The deserted spouse must prove that there is a factum of
separation and there is an intention on the part of deserting spouse to bring
the cohabitation to a permanent end. In other words, there should be animus deserendi on the part of the
deserting spouse.
(III)
There must be an absence of consent on the part
of the deserted spouse and the conduct of the deserted spouse should not give a
reasonable cause to the deserting spouse to leave the matrimonial home.
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