Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the minimum period of desertion for filing a petition for Judicial…

Since the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976, section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act allows judicial separation on any ground in section 13(1), which includes desertion "for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition".

The longer periods do not apply to desertion; seven years relates to the presumption that a person not heard of is dead.