Petition for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

A petition for divorce is presented by the husband or the wife to the district court on one or more of the grounds the section lists against the other party. The Act states who presents it, where, on what grounds, what it must state and how it is verified, and bars a petition presented too soon after the marriage; the form it takes is a matter for the rules of the court it goes to.

What such a document contains

It is presented by either the husband or the wife
The section provides for the petition to be presented by either party to the marriage, to the district courtSection 13(1), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)
It states a ground the section lists
Adultery, cruelty, desertion for the period the section states, and the other grounds the section enumerates against the other party — the petition rests on one or more of them and on nothing outside the listSection 13(1), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)
The district court it is presented to
The district court within whose ordinary original civil jurisdiction the marriage was solemnised, or the respondent resides when the petition is presented, or the parties last resided together, or — where the wife is the petitioner — where she is residing on that date, or where the petitioner resides if the respondent is outside the territories the Act extends to or has not been heard of as alive for the period the section statesSection 19, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)
It states the facts the claim rests on, and that there is no collusion
Every petition under the Act states, as distinctly as the nature of the case permits, the facts on which the claim to relief is founded, and states that there is no collusion between the petitioner and the other party to the marriageSection 20(1), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)
Its statements are verified as a plaint's are
The statements in the petition are verified by the petitioner, or some other competent person, in the manner the law requires for the verification of plaints, and may be referred to as evidence at the hearingSection 20(2), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)
The particulars of the marriage and of the parties
When and where the marriage was solemnised, and the names and addresses of the parties. Such petitions carry these; no section read for this section prescribes the listConvention rather than law
The relief sought
A decree of divorce, and conventionally any order on maintenance, custody or property sought with it. The Act states what the court may decree and not what a petition must ask forConvention rather than law

The periods that attach to it

  • No court entertains a petition for divorce presented before the period the section fixes has passed since the marriage, unless leave is given on the grounds the section names. — Section 14, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)
  • Where desertion is the ground, it must have continued for the period the clause states immediately before the petition is presented. — Section 13(1)(ib), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)

Not established

  • The Act states who presents the petition, to which court, what it must state and how it is verified. The form it takes, and the practice of the Family Court or district court it goes to, are set by rules made by the High Court of the State, and those are not established here.

What this guide is not

Of the points listed below, five are fixed by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955) itself and two are convention — such documents carry them, and no provision read for this section requires them. This is a description of a kind of document and not a document — confirm the contents of any document in a particular matter with an advocate.

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