Divorce Process in India.
India has different divorce laws for different religions. Almost all the religions has their own divorce laws in India which are used among themselves. There are separate laws for inter-cast or inter-religion marriages. Divorce laws in India for Hindus is described in Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Hindu Marriage Act is also used for Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains as they don't have their own separate marriage and divorce laws. Here is the list of various divorce laws in India for various religions: ◦Hindu (including Sikhs, Jains and Buddists)
◦Muslims
◦Christians
◦Parsis
◦Inter-Cast of Inter-Religion
Section 13 in The
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Divorce. —
(1) Any marriage solemnised, whether before or after the
commencement of this Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or
the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other
party—
16 [(i) has, after the solemnisation of the marriage, had
voluntary sexual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse; or]
16 [(ia) has, after the solemnisation of the marriage,
treated the petitioner with cruelty; or]
16 [(ib) has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period
of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the
petition; or]
(ii) has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another
religion; or
17 [(iii) has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been
suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind
and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live
with the respondent.
Explanation .—In this
clause,—
(a) the expression “mental
disorder” means mental illness, arrested or
incomplete development of mind, psychopathic disorder or any other disorder or
disability of mind and includes schizophrenia;
(b) the expression “psychopathic
disorder” means a persistent disorder or
disability of mind (whether or not including sub-normality of intelligence)
which results in abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on
the part of the other party, and whether or not it requires or is susceptible
to medical treatment; or]
(iv) has 18 [***] been suffering from a virulent and
incurable form of leprosy; or
(v) has 18 [***] been suffering from venereal disease in a
communicable form; or
(vi) has renounced the world by entering any religious
order; or
(vi) has not been heard of as being alive for a period of
seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of it, had
that party been alive; 19 [***] 20 [ Explanation. —In
this sub-section, the expression “desertion” 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 wilful neglect of the petitioner by the
other party to the marriage, and its grammatical variations and cognate
expressions shall be construed accordingly.] 21 [***]
22 [(1A) Either party to a marriage, whether solemnised
before or after the commencement of this Act, may also present a petition for
the dissolution of the marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground—
(i) that there has been no resumption of cohabitation as
between the parties to the marriage for a period of 22 [one year] or upwards
after the passing of a decree for judicial separation in a proceeding to which
they were parties; or
(ii) that there has been no restitution of conjugal rights
as between the parties to the marriage for a period of 22 [one year] or upwards
after the passing of a decree for restitution of conjugal rights in a
proceeding to which they were parties.]
(2) A wife may also present a petition for the dissolution
of her marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground,—
(i) in the case of any marriage solemnised before the
commencement of this Act, that the husband had married again before such
commencement or that any other wife of the husband married before such
commencement was alive at the time of the solemnisation of the marriage of the
petitioner: Provided that in either case the other wife is alive at the time of
the presentation of the petition; or
(ii) that the husband has, since the solemnisation of the
marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy or 23 [bestiality; or]
24 [(iii) that in a suit under section 18 of the Hindu
Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (78 of 1956), or in a proceeding under
section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) [or under the
corresponding section 488 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898)],
a decree or order, as the case may be, has been passed against the husband
awarding maintenance to the wife notwithstanding that she was living apart and
that since the passing of such decree or order, cohabitation between the
parties has not been resumed for one year or upwards; or
25 [(iv) that her marriage (whether consummated or not) was
solemnised before she attained the age of fifteen years and she has repudiated
the marriage after attaining that age but before attaining the age of eighteen
years.]
Explanation. —This clause
applies whether the marriage was solemnised before or after the commencement of
the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976)*.] State Amendment Uttar
Pradesh: In its application to Hindus domiciled in Uttar Pradesh and also when
either party to the marriage was not at the time of marriage a Hindu domiciled
in Uttar Pradesh, in section 13—
(i) in sub-section (1), after clause (i) insert (and shall
be deemed always to have been inserted) the following clause, namely:— “(1a) has persistently or
repeatedly 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”,
and “(viii) has not resumed cohabitation after
the passing of a decree for judicial separation against that party and—
(a) a period of two years has elapsed since the passing of
such decree, or
(b) the case is one of exceptional hardship to the
petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of other party; or
(ii) for clause (viii) (since repealed in the principal Act)
substitute (and shall be deemed to have been substituted) following clause,
namely:—
Section 13(1) in The
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
(1) Any marriage solemnised, whether before or after the
commencement of this Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or
the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other
party—
16 [(i) has, after the solemnisation of the marriage, had
voluntary sexual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse; or]
16 [(ia) has, after the solemnisation of the marriage,
treated the petitioner with cruelty; or]
16 [(ib) has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period
of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the
petition; or]
(ii) has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another
religion; or
17 [(iii) has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been
suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind
and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live
with the respondent.
Explanation .—In this
clause,—
(a) the expression “mental
disorder” means mental illness, arrested or
incomplete development of mind, psychopathic disorder or any other disorder or
disability of mind and includes schizophrenia;
(b) the expression “psychopathic
disorder” means a persistent disorder or
disability of mind (whether or not including sub-normality of intelligence)
which results in abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on
the part of the other party, and whether or not it requires or is susceptible
to medical treatment; or]
(iv) has 18 [***] been suffering from a virulent and
incurable form of leprosy; or
(v) has 18 [***] been suffering from venereal disease in a
communicable form; or
(vi) has renounced the world by entering any religious
order; or
(vi) has not been heard of as being alive for a period of
seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of it, had
that party been alive; 19 [***] 20 [ Explanation. —In
this sub-section, the expression “desertion” 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 wilful neglect of the petitioner by the
other party to the marriage, and its grammatical variations and cognate
expressions shall be construed accordingly.]
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