law: Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
  10. Judicial separation.-
  (1) Either party to a marriage, whether solemnized before or
  
  after the commencement of this Act, may present a petition to the district
  
  court praying for a decree for judicial separation on the ground that the other
  
  party-
  (a) has deserted the petitioner for a
  
  continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the
  
  presentation of the petition; or
  (b) has treated the petitioner with such
  
  cruelty as to cause a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the petitioner
  
  that it will be harmful or injurious for the petitioner to live with the other
  
  party; or
  (c) has, for a period of not less than one
  
  year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition, been suffering
  
  from a virulent form of leprosy; or
  (d) has, immediately before the presentation
  
  of the petition, been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form,
  
  the disease not having been contracted from the petitioner; or
  (e) has been continuously of unsound mind for
  
  a period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of
  
  the petition; or
  (f) has, after the solemnization of the
  
  marriage, had sexual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse.
  Explanation.- In this section, the expression
  
  "desertion", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions,
  
  means the desertion of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage
  
  without reasonable cause and without the consent or against the wish of such
  
  party, and includes the willful neglect of the petitioner by the other party to
  
  the marriage.
  (2) Where a decree for judicial separation has been passed, it
  
  shall no longer be obligatory for the petitioner to cohabit with the
  
  respondent, but the court may, on the application by petition of either party
  
  and on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition,
  
  rescind the decree if it considers it just and reasonable to do so.