Divorce -- Delay in Instituting Proceedings -- Mere lapse of time or long separation not by itself sufficient to constitute delay
(i) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, S.23(1)(d) -- Divorce -- Delay in Instituting Proceedings -- This provision empowers the Court to decline relief on the ground of unnecessary or improper delay. However, mere lapse of time or long separation cannot by itself constitute such delay. (ii) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.13(1)(ia), 23(1)(d) -- Divorce -- Cruelty of Continuing Nature -- Where the cruelty alleged is of a continuing nature, or where the separation is itself a consequence of the respondent's conduct, delay in filing the petition cannot be treated as fatal. (iii) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.13(1)(ia), 23(1)(d) -- Divorce -- Dismissal Solely on Ground of Delay -- Dismissal of a matrimonial petition solely on the ground of delay may defeat the very policy underlying matrimonial law. (iv) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.13, 23(1)(d) -- Divorce -- Separation of Fifteen Years -- A separation of fifteen years cannot be construed as improper delay, but rather reinforces the complete breakdown of the matrimonial bond. (v) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Ss.13, 23(1)(d) -- Divorce -- Petition by Wife After Long Separation -- Where parties have lived separately for a prolonged period and their children have become adults, the matrimonial bond stands eroded beyond repair, amounting to complete and irretrievable breakdown. Continuous mental agony, fear, and insecurity caused to the wife and children by conduct of the husband entitles the wife to a decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty.
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