Yes, this is an important nuance in matrimonial law that clients often don't anticipate, and occasional returns by your spouse can indeed complicate, and potentially undermine, a desertion-based divorce petition in Delhi if not handled carefully. Desertion under Section 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 requires continuous, uninterrupted abandonment for a period of at least two years, along with a clear intention to permanently end the marital relationship — and if your spouse has been returning periodically, even briefly, this can potentially break the continuity required to establish desertion as a ground.

However, the outcome genuinely depends on the nature and purpose of these occasional returns. Courts in Delhi distinguish between returns that represent a genuine attempt to resume the marital relationship — living together, resuming marital duties, and showing real intent to reconcile — versus superficial or strategic visits that don't reflect any genuine change in the underlying intention to abandon the marriage. Brief, infrequent visits without genuine cohabitation or resumption of marital life are less likely to break the continuity of desertion in the eyes of a careful court.

To strengthen your case despite occasional returns, it helps to document the nature of each visit clearly — how long your spouse stayed, whether marital relations genuinely resumed, and whether there was any real indication of intent to permanently return to the marriage, versus visits that appear more transactional, obligatory, or strategically timed. This detailed evidence allows your advocate to argue that the fundamental desertion, in substance, continued despite these superficial interruptions.

If desertion as a standalone ground becomes genuinely difficult to establish due to these occasional returns, your advocate can often pivot to or add mental cruelty as an alternative ground, since a pattern of inconsistent, disruptive presence without genuine commitment to the marriage can itself constitute cruelty, giving you a strong alternative path to divorce in Delhi.

Given how fact-sensitive this analysis can become, it is worth speaking with our legal experts at Aapka Legal Advice to carefully assess whether your specific pattern of separations and returns still supports a desertion claim, or whether an alternative or additional ground would strengthen your case.

The Best Divorce Lawyers & Retired Judges in Delhi | Aapka Legal Advice platform connects clients with divorce lawyers experienced in desertion and cruelty-based matrimonial litigation, along with a panel of retired judges who can offer grounded, practical guidance on how Delhi courts typically evaluate such intermittent separation patterns.

In summary, the ground of desertion can potentially fail in Delhi if your spouse's occasional returns genuinely interrupt the required continuity, but careful evidence and alternative grounds can preserve your case. A detailed, honest assessment of the pattern with your advocate is essential to choosing the right strategy.