Santosh Duggal, J.

( 1 ) THIS is petitioner-husband s Letter Patent Appeal, filed against the dismissal in limine of his appeal by a Learned Single Judge of this Court ; which appeal he had taken against the judgment dated 5th January, 1985 of the Additional District Judge, Delhi, dismissing his petition for a decree of divorce by dissolution of his marriage with the respondent filed under the provisions of Section 13 (l) (ia) (ib)ofthehindu Marriage Act, 1955, as amended by the Marriage Laws (Amendment Act of 1976 ).

( 2 ) IT is a case of short lived marriage between the spouses, as revealed from the facts culled from the record, inasmuch as the wedding had taken place on 7th March, 1976 whereas there has been admitted severance of relationship between them since 10th October, 1976. The petitioner came up with the allegations that the respondent had deserted him and left the matrimonial home on 10th October, 1976 with the intention of permanently abandoning the same and that this was without any reasonable cause, and without his consent ; rather against his wishes.

( 3 ) PETITIONER went on alleging that the departure of the respondent from matrimonial home on 10th October, 1976 was with the definite resolve of not returning to the matrimonial home and that this is obvious from the fact that while leaving the house she took away practically all her clothes, valuables, jewellery and other articles. The allegation, thus, was that she had animus deserendi from the very moment, she left the house on 10th October, 1976 and that this determination subsisted throughout inasmuch as respondent never made any attempt to come back nor her parents took up any initiative to send her back and further that their intentions became clear when neither she nor her parents even sent customary greetings to the petitioner or his parents on the Diwali day, which was the first one after their marriage, and fell about 10 days of respondent having left the matrimonial home. The petitioner further alleged that in furtherance of her intention to desert the petitioner and abandon the matrimonial home, for which he pleads to have given no cause or occasion; she again visited his house on 7th November, 1976 and took away the remaining of her clothes, jewellery and other valuables, on the pretext of requiring them for the purposes of attending a relative s marriage, but never returned thereafter nor made any efforts for rapprochement.

( 4 ) THERE were grave allegations against respondents behaviour and conduct while she was staying at petitioners house, describing her nature to be indolent, arrogant, self-indulging and contemptuous of the petitioner and his family ; pleading on the other hand that the petitioner possessed a very gentle and uncovetous nature, holding a decent job, with very affluent parents and that he put up with all the alleged mis-behaviour and insults from the respondent out of his anxiety not to hurt his parents, and also in the hope of bringing round the respondent to correct approach and life and their way of thinking but according to him she remained recalcitrant and always looked down upon him indicating in clear words as well as by implications that he was not worthy of her, and she was possessed of better attainments, and deserving of a better person as husband, as compared to the petitioner. This treatment which the respondent allegedly meted out to him, is tantamount to cruelty on the part of the respondent, causing mental humiliation and agony to him, so averred the petitioner, (Appellant herein ). Further pleading that he was in no way privy to respondent staying away ; he sought a decree of divorce by dissolution of marriage, both on the ground of desertion as well as cruelty.

( 5 ) LEARNED trial court after full appraisal of the evidence both oral as well as documentary led before him and also weighing the totality of circumstances as brought on record, came to a clear finding that the respondent had not formed any intent to

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