PRATIBHA RANI, J.

1. Both the parties to HMA Petition No.618/2014 (Old No.595/2005) take exception to the judgment and decree dated August 06, 2014 whereby their marriage has been dissolved.

2. The husband (appellant in MAT.APP.(F.C.) No.60/2015) filed a petition seeking dissolution of marriage on the grounds of cruelty and desertion as enumerated under Section 13(1)(ia) and (ib) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Vide impugned judgement and decree, the marriage of the parties was dissolved only on the ground of cruelty as envisaged under Section 13(1)(ia) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

3. Since both the matrimonial appeals arise out of the same judgement as the wife is aggrieved by the impugned judgment dissolving her marriage with the respondent, the grievance of the husband is that his petition should have also been allowed on the ground of desertion.

4. For the sake of convenience we shall be referring the parties as ‘the wife’ and ‘the husband’.

5. Facts of the case are not in dispute to the extent that the parties got married on February 07, 1999 according to Hindu rites and ceremonies. The parties were blessed with their first child on November 15, 1999 and with the second child on September 30, 2002. The wife has been residing separately at her parental home since May 17, 2002, i.e., when she was in family way second time. The second son was born during the period when the parties were living separately.

6. Divorce petition seeking dissolution of marriage under section 13(1)(ia) and (ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 was filed by the husband on June 04, 2005, inter alia, on the following grounds:

(i) The parties belong to lower middle class and father of the wife was employed as Car Driver with Ministry of Railways and the marriage was simple.

(ii) The wife soon after the marriage insisted for living separately from her in-laws and after the birth of their first child persisted this demand to the extent that in September, 2001 they started living in a separate portion in the same house but with common kitchen.

(iii) The husband, being the only son of his parents having four sisters one married and three unmarried, was not willing to live separately from his family.

(iv) In March, 2002 the wife insisted that the property in the name of her father-in-law be transferred in her name or she would commit suicide and implicate the husband and his entire family in criminal cases.

(v) The wife was in the habit of picking up quarrel with the mother-in-law and sisters-in-law and create scene which made the life of the husband difficult and he was living in constant fear.

(vi) The husband also lodged a report with the police about the incident dated April 29, 2002 when she threatened to consume acid meant for cleaning toilets. She was pregnant at that time and with timely intervention of the husband, she could be saved.

(vii) During inquiry on his complaint, on May 16, 2002 she made a statement to the police that whatever she did was in a fit of anger and she would not do so in future.

(viii) On the very next date, i.e., May 17, 2002, the wife left the matrimonial home along with elder child and her belongings. She did not return thereafter despite she being persuaded to come back.

(ix) She lodged various false complaints against the husband and his family. The second son was born on September 30, 2002 but neither he nor his family was informed about the good news. The husband received the news from a stranger.

(x) The husband wanted to live with his wife and children but his request to his wife and her parents for reunion did not yield any result.

(xi) The husband has not condoned the acts of cruelty.

(xii) The efforts for reconciliation before the Delhi State Legal Services Authority and CAW Cell to reunite them also failed as the wife refused to come back and she was hell-bent upon breaking the matrimonial ties.

7. The wife contested the divorce petition refuting all the allegations made by the husband. She pleaded her harassment on account o