Judgement

AYYANGAR, J.- (on behalf of Sinha C. J., Das A. C. J. Raghubar Dayal J. and himself.)This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Bombay reversing the judgment and decree of the City Civil Court at Bombay by which a decree for judicial separation granted by the trial Judge was reversed and it comes before us on a certificate of fitness granted by the High Court under Art. 133 (1) (c) of the Constitution.

2. The appellant - The husband - filed a petition in the City Civil Court, Bombay under Sec. 10 (1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (which we shall hereafter refer to as the Act) praying for a decree against the respondent - his wife, for judicial separation on the ground that in terms of that provisions she had "deserted him for "a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of his petition . The petition was presented on September 20, 1956 and the material allegation was that the wife had left the matrimonial home on February 26, 1954 and had not thereafter come back to him and that this constituted "desertion within the meaning of the provision just cited. The learned trial Judge held that the appellant had e