Petition for divorce by mutual consent under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

A petition for divorce by mutual consent is presented by both parties to the marriage together, to the district court, on the three grounds the section states, and is decided on a second motion made by both parties inside the window the Act fixes. The Act states who presents it, where, what it must state and how it is verified; 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 both parties to the marriage together
The section provides for the petition to be presented to the district court by both the parties to the marriage togetherSection 13B(1), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955)
It states the three grounds the section names
That the parties have been living separately for the period the section states, that they have not been able to live together, and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolvedSection 13B(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 terms the parties have agreed on
Maintenance, the custody of children and the return of property are conventionally set out where the parties have settled them. The section requires mutual agreement that the marriage be dissolved and nothing about its termsConvention rather than law

The periods that attach to it

  • The decree is passed on a motion by both parties made inside the window the section fixes after the petition is presented, if the petition has not been withdrawn in the meantime. — Section 13B(2), 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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