ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT: MARRIAGE NOT PRESUMED TO BE IRRETRIEVABLY BROKEN DOWN WHEN THERE IS LONG SEPARATION; VOLUNTARY DESERTION, OTHER FACTORS NECESSARY

The Allahabad High Court in the case Mahendra Kumar Singh v. Rani Singh observed and has held that marriage cannot be presumed irretrievably broken down just because the parties have suffered separation for any length of time.

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The court in the case held that voluntary desertion along with other circumstances need to be seen in order to conclude that divorce can be granted on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.

The bench comprising of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Donadi Ramesh was hearing the present matter.

The bench held that the decisions of the Supreme Court do not lay down a thumb rule that the marriage may be presumed to be irretrievably broken down if the parties have suffered separation for a long period of time and only where one of the parties is seen to have voluntarily deserted the other and parties have continued in that status for long period of time then in view of the other attending circumstances as may indicate to the Court that there is no substance in the marriage, a conclusion may be reached that the marriage has been irretrievably been broken down.