A.S.Garg, J.

1. The husband brought a petition for seeking a decree of divorce against the wife on the ground of desertion and cruelty in May, 1996. After a hot contest, the petition was dismissed on 14.12.1998 by the learned District Judge, Chandigarh. The husband has filed the present appeal.

2. The husband in this case is a Judicial Officer in the State of Haryana and is a member of Haryana Superior Judicial Service at present. The respondent wife belongs to Doraha, a Sub Division in district Ludhiana. The parties were allegedly married on 6.12.1985 at Doraha according to Hindu rites and ceremonies. No child has been bom out of this wed-lock. The parties lived together till 28.4.1986 and there after never lived together. The allegations of the husband had been that right from the first day of the marriage, he sensed something abnormal in the wife and was unable to consummate the marriage as the respondent-wife could not possibly cooperate because of something lacking in her health for a cohabitation and the marriage virtually remained non-existent. One day, the respondent told that appellant-husband that she was suffering from protracted ailment and her ailment was concealed by her parents from him for which the appellant was shocked but still the appellant claimed that he assured the respondent that the would provide her the best available medical treatment. The respondent herself allegedly told the appellant that she was getting treatment from one Vaid Amar Nath Shastri of Chandigarh and it was on 10.12.1985 that the appellant took her to the said Vaid at Chandigarh. The Vaid told the appellant that respondents father was his close friend and he was already seized of the health problem of the respondent and he gave some medicines, since he was treating her already. After consulting Vaid Amar Nath Shastri, they returned to Yamuna Nagar where the parents of the appellant were living. However, there were no signs of improvement in her health. The husband left for Panipat where he was, posted and used to visit Yamuna Nagar on week ends. The husband wanted, to take the respondents Panipat at the place of his posting in the middle of January, 1986 and they actually started living at Panipat and continued with the medicines. In the month of February, 1986, the wife agreed to be examined by Dr. B.M. Nagpal of Civil Hospital, Panipat and was advised by the doctor for a thorough Check up and diagnosis but the respondent did not cooperate which was shocking to the appellant. The respondent ultimately told that she was not interested in any medical treatment.

3. In fact, the respondent-wife was losing weight and flesh and had been reduced to a skeleton of bones. This happened because of the ailment of the respondent The appellant claimed that he became restless and mentally upset. In the middle of March, 1986, he wrote to his in-laws about the state of the condition of his wife. The father of the respondent visited Panipat. The father of the respondent went back to Doraha after simply meeting them. The health of the respondent continued to deteriorate. She suffered from asthmatic attacks and because of that her behaviour became quarrel some and irritative, on trifle matters she threatened to leave the matrimonial home though the appellant was able to persuade her to return back to the matrimonial home. It was also being claimed that the respondent since did not cooperate and her act of leaving the matrimonial home in April, 1986 was with an intention to never return acted as a desertion on her suit without sufficient cause.

4. The appellant claimed that during her stay at Panipat when Surinder Singh Rao and Virender Jain his friends visited his place, the respondent refused to prepare tea and started misbehaving in their presence. The respondent started taunting, threatening and using abusive language against the appellant and claimed that he did not have a proper living standard and the appellant could not bear this insult a