Hon’ble Suneet Kumar, J.—Heard Sri Anshu Chaudhary, learned counsel for the appellant and Sri Shashi Ranjan Srivastava holding brief of Sri Prashant Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the respondent.

2. The instant appeal filed under Section 28(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Act) read with Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, is directed against the judgment and decree dated 18 September 2013 passed by the Special Judge (SC/ST Act)/Additional District Judge, Jalaun at Orai, in Matrimonial Case No. 57 of 2008 (Vinay Kumar Pathak v. Smt. Annapurna Awasthi).

3. The appellant/husband instituted a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Act on the ground of cruelty and desertion. It was pleaded that the marriage between the appellant and respondent was solemnized on 4 December 1998 in accordance with hindu rites and customs. After a short time, the respondent deserted the appellant on 25 December 1999 and since then is continuously living at her parental house. From the marriage, a son was born who is presently aged about 16 years and is living with the respondent. The cause for instituting the petition arose on 7 April 2008 when the respondent refused to live