1. Heard the learned counsel for the parties. The parties are referred to by their rank before the trial court for the sake of convenience.

2. This is an appeal by the plaintiff. It was the case of the plaintiff that she was married to the first defendant at Somwarpet, Kodagu District on 16.5.1966 as per customary Hindu rites. The first defendant was a medical practitioner and was employed on various assignments, which required him to travel abroad. In the year 1969, he visited England on an assignment, where he had worked up to the year 1971. Thereafter, he had returned to India. He had again left for the United States Of America (Hereinafter referred to as the ‘USA’, for brevity) in the year 1972 on a temporary assignment. The plaintiff had joined him in the USA and three children were born to the plaintiff and the first defendant, namely, Shashikumar, who was 13, Skanda, who was 7 and Shanmuga, who was 5, as on the date of the suit. The plaintiff was the only child to her parents. Her father had died early and her mother had inherited extensive Coffee estates and other properties at Somwarpet and other places.

It was the plaintiff’s case that the first defendant was k