How To Get A Divorce In India

There are different laws of divorce for different religion. Hindus(which includes Sikh, Jain, Budh) are governed by Hindu Marriage Act,1955.Christians are governed by Indian Divorce Act-1869 & The Indian Christian Marriage Act,1872.Muslims are governed by Personnel laws of Divorce and also the Dissolution of Marriage Act,1939 & The Muslim Women(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act,1986. Similarly, Parsis are governed by The Parsi Marriage & Divorce Act-1936. And there is also a secular law called Special Marriage Act,1954.

A cursory reading of the entire gamut of Indian Laws regarding Divorce makes it clear broadly that the Divorce can be obtained by two ways:

• Divorce by Mutual Consent
• Contested Divorce

1. Mutual Consent Divorce is a simple way of coming out of the marriage and dissolves it legally. Important requirement is the mutual consent of the husband & wife. There are two aspects on which Husband & Wife have to reach to consensus. One is the alimony or maintenance issues. As per Law there is no minimum or maximum limit of maintenance. It could be any figure or no figure. Next important consideration is the Child Custody. This can also be worked out effectively between the parties. Child Custody in Mutual Consent Divorce can be shared or joint or exclusive depending upon the understanding of the spouses.

Duration of Divorce in Mutual Consent varies from one month to six months or more from States to States and as per the High Court directions.

2. Contested Divorce

As the name suggests, you will have to contest it. Indian laws in general recognizes cruelty (Physical & Mental), Desertion (Period varies from 2 to 3 years), Unsoundness of mind( of Incurable form), Impotency, renouncing the world, etc. Aggrieved party has to take one of the above grounds of divorce and will have to file the case in the Court of appropriate jurisdiction. Party which files the case has to prove the case with support of evidence and documents. On successfully proving the case, divorce will be granted and divorce decree will be drawn up accordingly.

ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE:

Marriage in India can also be dissolved by means of Annulment. Procedure for annulment is same as that of Divorce except that the grounds for annulment are different than that of divorce. Grounds for annulment are fraud, pregnancy of wife by person other than the husband, impotency prior to the marriage and subsist even at the time of filing the case.

Once annulment is granted by the Indian Court, status of the parties remains as it was prior to the marriage.

VOID MARRIAGE:

There are certain form of marriages which are null and void despite the performance /solemnization of the same. Marriage is void under following circumstances:-

a) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage

b) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

c) the parties are not sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two.

Time duration for obtaining divorce varies from case to case & place to place. Generally speaking, contested divorce proceedings take approximately 18 to 24 months. Mutual Consent Divorce varies from 4 weeks to 7 months and more. In Delhi, Mutual Consent Divorce is possible with in two to four weeks.

Generally speaking procedure for obtaining Divorce in all forms of law (based on religion) is same with only bit of variation.

Maintenance

Maintenance flows from the concept of marriage. The question of maintenance is not dependent upon the divorce proceedings. Even before the case of divorce is filed, Indian Law provides the right to claim maintenance through the medium of the Court.

If we look at the entire gamut of Indian matrimonial law, we will find that the provisions for maintenance are available in following statues in case of Hindu Marriage:

• Section 125 Criminal Procedure Code( Cr.P.C.)
• Section 20 of Protection of women from Domestic Violence
• Section 18 of Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act
• Section 24 of Hindu Marriage Act
• Section 25 of Hindu Marriage Act

A general conjoint reading of the aforesaid provision makes it amply clear that the objective of law is to provide maintenance to the Spouse who does not have sufficient means to maintain himself/herself by the one who has capacity and means to provide maintenance. The object is salutary and the scheme appreciating.

A cursory look at the past practices and belief is a clear cut indication of the fact that it is the man who has been bestowed with the power, capacity and capability to look after the family. Womanhood is expected to take care of the domestic chores while men were held responsible for all financial support to the family.

Law is expected to change with time. So, when women starting assuming proactive roles in the society, then maintenance law in India took care of this fact and brought the working men and women in the same pedestal. In number of cases, it was held that Husband is entitled to maintenance if he does not have sufficient means and the wife is working.

While awarding maintenance, Court considers following factors among other:

• Status of the husband and wife.
• Salary/ Income of the husband
• Salary /Income of the wife
• Liabilities of husband, if any
• Dependants
• Reasonable wants of claimant.
• Financial Background
• Movable & Immovable properties of the Husband

Though there is no fixed formula to arrive at the calculation of maintenance. Yet, the figure hovers around 30% to 40% of the salary/income.

It will be a no defence in case of maintenance that other spouse is at fault or marriage is solemnised on the strength of fraud, the other claimant wilfully and without reasonable cause left the society of the spouse, etc. Court awards maintenance on the strength of marriage and conduct of the party could play a part in determining the quantum of maintenance. Thus, as a matter of general rule maintenance is awarded.

The Job of Divorce/maintenance lawyer as well as the Court is to have an award of reasonable maintenance depending upon the status of the parties.

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The secular mind-set of the Indian judicial system has initiated proclamation of various personal laws based on different religious faiths. Hindus, Christians and Muslims are governed under separate marriage acts and grounds for divorce in India.

Let us have a look at the various grounds for divorce in India.

The following are the grounds for divorce in India mentioned under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Adultery – The act of indulging in any kind of sexual relationship including intercourse outside marriage is termed as adultery. Adultery is counted as a criminal offence and substantial proofs are required to establish it. An amendment to the law in 1976 states that one single act of adultery is enough for the petitioner to get a divorce.

Cruelty – A spouse can file a divorce case when he/she is subjected to any kind of mental and physical injury that causes danger to life, limb and health. The intangible acts of cruelty through mental torture are not judged upon one single act but series of incidents. Certain instances like the food being denied, continuous ill treatment and abuses to acquire dowry, perverse sexual act and such are included under cruelty.

Desertion – If one of the spouses voluntarily abandons his/her partner for at least a period of two years, the abandoned spouse can file a divorce case on the ground of desertion.

Conversion – Incase either of the two converts himself/herself into another religion, the other spouse may file a divorce case based on this ground.

Mental Disorder – Mental disorder can become a ground for filing a divorce if the spouse of the petitioner suffers from incurable mental disorder and insanity and therefore cannot be expected from the couple to stay together.

Leprosy – In case of a ‘virulent and incurable’ form of leprosy, a petition can be filed by the other spouse based on this ground.

Venereal Disease – If one of the spouses is suffering from a serious disease that is easily communicable, a divorce can be filed by the other spouse. The sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS are accounted to be venereal diseases.

Renunciation – A spouse is entitled to file for a divorce if the other renounces all worldly affairs by embracing a religious order.

Not Heard Alive – If a person is not seen or heard alive by those who are expected to be ‘naturally heard’ of the person for a continuous period of seven years, the person is presumed to be dead. The other spouse should need to file a divorce if he/she is interested in remarriage.

No Resumption of Co-habitation – It becomes a ground for divorce if the couple fails to resume their co-habitation after the court has passed a decree of separation.

The following are the grounds for divorce in India on which a petition can be filed only by the wife.

• If the husband has indulged in rape, bestiality and sodomy.
• If the marriage is solemnized before the Hindu Marriage Act and the husband has again married another woman in spite of the first wife being alive, the first wife can seek for a divorce.
• A girl is entitled to file for a divorce if she was married before the age of fifteen and renounces the marriage before she attains eighteen years of age.
• If there is no co-habitation for one year and the husband neglects the judgment of maintenance awarded to the wife by the court, the wife can contest for a divorce.

Based on the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage act, 1939, a Muslim woman can seek divorce on the following grounds for divorce in India.

• The husband’s whereabouts are unknown for a period of four years.
• The husband has failed to provide maintenance to the wife for at least two years.
• The husband has been under imprisonment for seven or more years.
• The husband is unable to meet the marital obligations.
• If the girl is married before fifteen and decides to end the relationship before she turns eighteen.
• The husband indulges in acts of cruelty.

Let us check out the following grounds of divorce mentioned under the Indian Divorce Act, 1869.

• Adultery
• Conversion to another religion
• One of the couples suffering from an unsound mind, leprosy or communicable venereal disease for at least two years before the filing of the divorce.
• Not been seen or heard alive for the period of seven or more years.
• Failure in observing the restitution of conjugal rights for at least two years.
• Inflicting cruelty and giving rise to mental anxiety that can be injurious to health and life.
• Wife can file a divorce based on the grounds of rape, sodomy and bestiality.

The following are the grounds for divorce in India included in the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 and the amendment of the same in 1988.

• Continuous absence of seven years.
• Non-consummation of marriage within one year.
• Unsound mind provided the other spouse was unaware of the fact at the time of marriage and the divorce must be filed within three years of marriage.
• Pregnancy by some other man provided the husband was unaware of the incident during the time of marriage and that he must not have undergone sexual intercourse after he came to know about the situation. The divorce must be filed within two years of marriage.
• Adultery, bigamy, fornication, rape, or any other type of perverse sexual act.
• Act of cruelty
• Suffering from venereal disease or forcing the wife into prostitution.
• Sentenced to prison for seven years or more
• Desertion for two or more years
• Non-resumption of cohabitation after passing an order of maintenance or a decree of judicial separation.