Answer:
Legal grounds for divorce in India vary from law to law
Divorce Laws are personal laws/marriage laws. There are several marriage laws in India and each marriage law provides different grounds on which you can seek divorce. If you are Hindu, Buddhist, Jain or Sikh then probably Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 will apply to you and your spouse. If you had a civil marriage ceremony then Special Marriage Act, 1954 might apply to you. If you are Christian then Indian Divorce Act, 1869 will apply to you. However, if you are Muslim woman who wants to dissolve marriage through Court then Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 spells out grounds specifically available to you.
Some common legal grounds for divorce that exist in India are adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion to another religion, serious mental disorder, communicable venereal disease (if applicable), renunciation of the world, and not heard alive for seven years or more. Under Hindu Marriage Act, husband as well as wife can jointly or separately file divorce petition on grounds of adultery, cruelty, desertion for at least two years immediately prior to filing of petition, conversion to another religion, mental disorder making spouse unfit for marriage, venereal disease in communicable form, renunciation, and presumption of death. Moreover,
Cruelty as a ground can range from physical cruelty to mental cruelty. It can range from harassment to repeated abusive conduct, serious false allegation, humiliation to forceful separation. Mental cruelty very broadly means any conduct which makes life of the spouse miserable to the extent that the continuation of marriage becomes impossible. Exact determination of result would be based on evidence and facts of each case.
Desertion means where one spouse has left another spouse without any reasonable ground and with no intention to come back. Under Hindu Marriage Act, period of desertion should generally be for at least two years continuously before filing of divorce petition.
Adultery means voluntary sexual intercourse of a person with someone other than his or her spouse after marriage. Adultery can be a ground for divorce, but the party filing divorce petition would need to prove adultery with legally acceptable facts and circumstances.
For marriage governed by Special Marriage Act, 1954 divorce can be filed by husband or wife on statutory grounds similar to those available in Hindu Marriage Act such as adultery, desertion, imprisonment, cruelty, mental disorder, venereal disease, presumption of death, and other grounds. Mutual consent divorce is also separately provided under Section 28 of Special Marriage Act.
Indian Divorce Act, 1869 governs divorce of Christian marriages. Grounds for dissolution of marriage are mentioned under Section 10 of Indian Divorce Act and mutual consent divorce is mentioned separately under Section 10A.
For Muslim marriages, even if husband wants divorce then wife can approach Court under Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 on the following grounds: whereabouts of husband are not known for four years; not providing maintenance for two years; sentenced to imprisonment for seven years or more; unable to perform marital obligations for three years; is impotent; insane; suffer from virulent venereal disease; husband has repudiated marriage in certain cases of child marriage; treat wife with cruelty; or any other ground as is recognized by law Sharia.
Mutual Consent Divorce Vs Contested Divorce
If you and your spouse both agree to get divorce then it is called mutual consent divorce. You can file mutual consent divorce petition under relevant law. But if your spouse is not agreeing to get divorced then you can still file contested divorce in Court. But you will have to prove that legal ground with valid documents, prove it with the conduct of parties, prove it with witnesses if any, prove it with records maintained by you and try to be ready with evidence that can be presented in Court.
How Can Advocate BK Singh Help You?
At Advocates Bureau, Advocate BK Singh can first help you understand which divorce law applies to your marriage. He can then examine your facts to point out if they support cruelty, desertion, adultery, failure to provide maintenance, child custody issues, domestic violence, streedhan recovery, or settlement through mediation.
He can go through your marriage documents, chat and call records, financial documents, any complaint you have filed, notices you have received, child related school or medical records, and prior discussions for settlement (if any) before advising you on the right legal course. If mutual consent divorce is possible then he can also help you clearly draft the terms of settlement. Else if the other side is not even willing to listen then he can help you prepare contested divorce petition, reply to divorce petition, application for maintenance, documents for claiming custody, response to domestic violence, or mediation strategy.
Divorce Lawyer Delhi NCR, Advocate BK Singh specializes in providing practical advice. Documents are cleanly drafted, focused on necessary documentation, realistic timelines are advised and counsels are kept ready with evidence based legal approach so that you can take informed action without any confusion.
By Advocate BK Singh
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