DIVORCE LAW

DIVORCE LAW 

AN OVERVIEW 

Divorce Law – An Overview

About The Author 

I am currently an independent legal 

practitioner. I have completed my 

Bachelor of Laws (B.A., LL.B 

(Hons.)) degree programme from 

National Law Institute University, 

Bhopal (India) in the year 2005. 

During my years of work experience 

I have had the opportunity to 

appear before all courts / forums 

and tribunals including Supreme 

Court, Delhi High Court, Districts 

Courts in Delhi and Gurgaon, 

Telecom Dispute Settlement & 

Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) etc. 

An active member of the Delhi 

Legal Aid Society. Having 

considerable experience in 

conducting Criminal trials and have 

considerable experience in handling 

various litigations for individuals as 

well as corporate houses. 


Index 

What is Divorce? 

What are the different types of divorce? 

A) Contested 

B) Divorce with mutual consent. 

Procedure for Filing for Divorce 

Mutual Consent Divorce: withdrawal of consent 

by one Ground for Divorce 

i. Adultery 

ii. Desertion Cruelty 

iii. Conversion 

iv. Mental Disorder 

v. Leprosy 

vi. Venereal Disease 

vii. Not Heard Alive 

viii. Grounds for divorce in India 

Settlement 

Judicial Separation: An alternative to divorce 

What is Condonation? 

Recognition of Foreign Court divorces in India 

Divorce under the Hindu Law: An overview 


What is Divorce? 

“Marriages may be made in heaven, but the 

maintenance must be done on earth”, the aforesaid 

saying is no more of any importance in today‟s so 

called westernised societies. 

In a society like India most of the people dare to 

the word „divorce‟, but these days the Indians are 

looking towards western countries and following 

them. When husband and wife can‟t adjust in their 

relationship then they decide to end up their 

relationship by way of divorce. A divorce is 

the legal separation of man and wife, by the 

judgment of a court. In other words, is a legal 

action between married couple to terminate their 

marriage relationship? It can be referred to as 


dissolution of marriage and is basically, the legal 

action that ends the marriage before the death of 

either spouse. 

What are the different types of divorce? 

India is a land of varied religious communities 

having their own marriage laws, the divorce 

procedure too varies, according to the community 

of the couple seeking divorce. All Hindus as well as 

Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains can seek divorce 

under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Muslim, 

Christian and Parsi communities, on the other 

hand, have their own laws governing marriage and 

divorce. Spouses belonging to different 

communities and castes can seek divorce under 

the Special Marriage Act, 1956. There is also the 

Foreign Marriage Act 1969, governing divorce laws 

in marriages where either partner belongs to 

another nationality. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 

recognizes two types of divorce, i) Contested or ii) 

Divorce with mutual consent. 


Contested Divorce : A contested divorce is one in 

which the parties cannot agree, either about 

getting divorced or about the terms of the divorce, 

such as the alimony, division of assets, allocation 

of debts, child support, or the custody of the 

children. It happens when divorcing parties can't 

reach an agreement on certain matters and need a 

court to decide for them. Not all estranged couples 

agree on the desirability, grounds or the conditions 

of divorce. In such cases, one party files for divorce 

in the court, but the other contests it. This forms 

the case for the filing of a contested divorce. Some 

of the grounds on which either spouse can file for 

a divorce in India are: 

 

 

 

Adultery on the part of the spouse of the petitioner, 

or any other sexual relationship outside marriage. 

Willful desertion or abandonment of the petitioner 

by the spouse, for a continuous period of two years 

in India, before the date of the filing for divorce. 

Infliction of physical and/or mental torture on the 

petitioner by the spouse, which may result in 

danger to life and health of the former. 


Sexual impotency or inability to perform sexual 

intercourse by the spouse of the petitioner. 

Insanity or suffering from incurable disease by the 

spouse of the petitioner. 

Often couples will begin the process of a contested 

divorce and then, before the actual trial, reach 

agreement on the financial terms and otherwise-of the 

divorce. 

Mutual Consent Divorce : Seeking a divorce in India 

is a long-drawn out legal affair, it takes atleast a 

minimum of six months to get divorced. However, the 

time and money required to obtain a divorce can be 

considerably shortened if the couple seeks divorce by 

mutual consent. In divorce with mutual consent, 

estranged spouses can mutually agree to a settlement 

and file for a “no-fault divorce” under Section 13B of 

the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. However, for filing for a 

divorce on this ground, it is necessary for the husband 

and wife to have lived separately for at least a year. 

Living separately does not mean living at far places or 

not sharing accommodation but not living like a 

husband and a wife be it under the single roof. The 

scheme of this Section provided for a petition to be 

presented satisfying three grounds: i) the parties have 

been living separately for one (1) year or more; ii) that 

they have not been able to live together; and iii) they 

have mutually agreed that the marriage should be 

dissolved. 

However, even after the Court is required to be 

satisfied on account of the aforesaid parameters, there 


is a further hiatus period provided under sub-section 

(2) of Section 13B of the said Act as the second motion 

has to be presented not earlier than six (6) months 

after the date of presentation of the petition referred to 

in sub-section (1) [not more than eighteen (18) months 

after the said date] if the earlier petition is not 

withdrawn in the mean time. On the satisfaction of the 

Court a decree for dissolution of the marriage can be 

passed. It is now settled legal position that this period 

of six (6) months cannot be waived by either the trial 

court or the High Court and the only exception to the 

same is the Supreme Court exercising power under 

Article 142 of the Constitution of India. Where the 

Supreme Court finds an irretrievable breakdown of 

marriage it can do complete justice under the said 

Article. Supreme Court in Anil Kumar Jain v. Maya 

Jain (2009) 10 SCC 415 (para 17) has held: 

This doctrine of irretrievable break-down of 

marriage is not available even to the High 

Courts which do not have powers similar to 

those exercised by the Supreme Court under 

Article 142 of the Constitution. Neither the 

civil courts nor even the High Courts can, 

therefore, pass orders before the periods 

prescribed under the relevant provisions of 

the Act or on grounds not provided for in 

Section 13 and 13-B of the Hindu Marriage 

Act, 1955. 


Also see Chetan Dass v. Kamla Devi (2001) 4 SCC 

250 (para 14). 

Procedure for Filing for Divorce 

The procedure for seeking a divorce by mutual 

consent, is initiated by filing a joint petition, supported 

by affidavits from both partners, in the Family Court of 

the concerned district. This is known as the First 

Motion Petition for Mutual Consent Divorce, this 

should contain a joint statement by both partners, that 

due to their irreconciliable differences, they can no 

longer stay together and should be granted a divorce 

by the court. After six months, the Second Motion 

Petition for Mutual Consent Divorce should be filed by 

the couple and they are required to reappear in the 

court. A gap of six months is given between the two 

motions, so as to offer the estranged couple adequate 

time to reconsider their decision of dissolving their 

marriage, this is often called the „cooling off period”. 

After hearings from the husband and wife, if the judge 

is satisfied that all the necessary grounds and 

requirements for the divorce have been met, the couple 

is granted a mutual divorce decree. 

Mutual Consent Divorce: withdrawal of consent 

by one 


Divorce cannot be granted to a Hindu couple if 

either of the spouse withdraws the consent before 

the judicial decree is passed. In other words, unless 

there is a complete agreement between the husband 

and the wife for the dissolution of the marriage and 

unless the court is completely satisfied, it cannot 

grant a decree for divorce by mutual consent. 

The question whether the consent of both the parties 

given at the time of presentation of the petition for 

mutual divorce under Section 13-B of the Act must 

continue till the decree is finally passed, has been the 

subject matter of several decisions of Supreme Court. 

The issue was raised in the case of Smt. Sureshta 

Devi vs. Om Prakash (1991) 2 SCC 25, wherein the 

Court held that the consent given by the parties to 

the filing of a petition for mutual divorce had to 

subsist till a decree was passed on the petition and 

that in the event, either of the parties withdrew the 

consent before passing of the final decree, the 

petition under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage 

Act would not survive and would have to be 

dismissed. The Court observed that: 

“...filing of the petition under section 13-B (l) with 

mutual consent does not authorise the Court to 

make a decree for divorce...” 


“...the section does not provide that if there is a 

change of mind it should not be by one Party 

alone, but by both. Therefore, if one of the parties 

at that stage withdraws its consent the Court 

cannot pass a decree of divorce by mutual 

consent. If the Court is held to have the power to 

make a decree solely based on the initial petition 

it negates the whole idea of mutuality and 

consent for divorce.” 

That the supreme Court in another decision of Hitesh 

Bhatnagar vs Deepa Bhatnagar (2011) 5 SCC 234 , 

where both the parties filed an application for divorce 

under section 13B and the respondent later on 

withdrew her consent after a period of 18 months 

saying that she wasn‟t willing for a divorce and wanted 

to live with him. The appellant wanted the court to 

grant him the decree of divorce by considering it as 

time-barred. Apex Court while dismissing the matter 

ruled out that either husband or wife could withdraw 

consent to divorce at any time before the decree is 

passed by the competent court. In simpler words, SC 

has simply lifted the time bar to withdraw the consent. 

Justice H. L. Dattu while hearing the matter observed 

that: 

“The most important requirement for a grant 

of a divorce by mutual consent is free consent 

of both the parties. In other words, unless 

there is a complete agreement between 

husband and wife for the dissolution of the 

marriage and unless the Court is completely 


satisfied, it cannot grant a decree for divorce 

by mutual consent. Otherwise, in our view, 

the expression `divorce by mutual consent' 

would be otiose.” 

Grounds for Divorce 

Grounds for divorce is the legal reason for filing 

for divorce. Some people confuse grounds with fault. 

They fail to understand that under no fault divorce the 

courts no longer concern themselves with who is at 

fault for the problems in the marriage. There must be a 

reason for ending a marriage and in most states that 

reason may be as simple as “irreconcilable differences.” 

In other words one spouse may be of the opinion that 

the marriage has broken down is beyond saving. The 

other spouse has little or no say in whether or not there 

is a divorce. A petition for divorce may be presented by 

either the husband or wife for dissolving the marriage 

on the following grounds: 

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. It is not possible to lay down a hard and 


fast rule about it since the decision of each case 

must depend upon its own merits and turn upon 

its own circumstances. But it is clear that for 

invoking the application of (old) cl. (i) of sub-sec. 

(1) of s. 13, it must be shown that the period 

during, which the spouse was living an adulterous 

life was so related from the point of proximity of 

time, to the filing of the petition that it could be 

reasonably inferred that the petitioner had a fair 

ground to believe that, when the petition was filed, 

the respondent was living in adultery This 

expression implies that a single lapse from virtue 

even if true will not suffice, and it must be shown 

that the respondent was actually living in adultery 

with someone else at the time of the application. 

Living in adultery is different from failing to lead a 

chaste life. See Rohtash Singh v. Smt. Ramendri 

& Ors. JT 2000 (2) SC 553 

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. Desertion as a ground for 

divorce has been added to s.13 by the Marriage 

Laws (Amendment) Act 1976. Previously, it was 

only a ground for judicial separation. Now 

desertion is a ground for both judicial separation 


and divorce. For the offence of desertion so far as 

deserting spouse is concerned, two essential 

conditions must be there (1) the factum of 

separation and (2) the intention to bring 

cohabitation permanently to an end (animus 

deserendi). Similarly two elements are essential so 

far as the deserted spouse is concerned: (1) the 

absence of consent, and (2) absence of conduct 

giving reasonable cause to the spouse leaving the 

matrimonial home to form the necessary intention 

aforesaid [see Lachman Utamchand Kirpalani v. 

Meena alias Mota AIR 1964 (SC) 40 ]. Many nonresident 

Indians (NRI) come to India to marry girls 

who are also aspirants to migrate from India by 

this marriage relation. It is often seen that some 

NRIs marry local girls, enjoy them and return to 

the foreign countries with vague hopes behind that 

their wives would be taken after completion of 

official formalities. But all those hopes are never 

materialized. Sometimes they receive papers in 

India in the form of foreign divorce decree. 

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 expression "cruelty" has not been defined in 

the Act. Cruelty can be physical or mental, A. 

Jayachandra v. Aneel Kaur (2005) 2 SCC 22. 


Mental cruelty in Section 13(l)(ia) can be broadly 

defined as the conduct which inflicts upon the 

other party such mental pain and suffering as 

would make it not possible for that party to live 

with the other. In other words, mental cruelty 

must be of such a nature that the parties cannot 

reasonably be expected to live together. The 

situation must be such that the wronged party 

cannot reasonably be asked to put up with the 

other party. It is not necessary to prove that the 

mental cruelty is such as to cause injury to the 

health of the petitioner. While arriving at such 

conclusion, regard must be had to the social 

status, educational level of the parties, the society 

they move in, the possibility or otherwise of the 

parties ever living together in case they are already 

living apart and all other relevant facts and 

circumstances. What is cruelty in one case may 

not amount to cruelty in another case. In that case 

allegations were made by the wife in her written 

statement and question put by her counsel to her 

husband that he and all the members of his family 

were lunatic etc. All these constitute mental 

cruelty. In the absence of a positive act of cruelty a 

party is not entitled to obtain a decree of divorce. 


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. See Samar Ghosh v. 

Jaya Ghosh (2007) 2 SCC 511, Savitri Pandey 

v. Prem Chandra Pandey (2002) 2 SCC 73, 

Parveen Mehta v. Inderjit Mehta (2002) 5 SCC 

706. 

Conversion – Incase either of the two converts himself/herself 

into another religion, the other spouse may file a 

divorce case based on this ground. A Hindu 

marriage may be dissolved by a decree of divorce 

on the ground that the respondent has ceased to 

be a Hindu by conversion to another religion. 

Though s. 13(1)(ii) confers expressly right on a 

spouse to present a petition for divorce against 

the other spouse who has changed his or her 

religion after the solemnization of marriage, but 

the apostate can also file a petition for dissolution 

of marriage after he or she has ceased to be a 

Hindu under the Hindu Marriage Act. Mere 

professing or theoretical allegiance to a religion 


other than a Hindu religion does not mean 

conversion for the purpose of this provision. 

There must be voluntary relinquishment of Hindu 

religion by the respondent and formal ceremonial 

conversion to another religion so as to attract this 

provision for the purpose of divorce. 

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. Prior to the Marriage Laws 

(Amendment) Act 1976, a petition for divorce might 

be presented by a spouse on the ground (a) that 

the respondent had been incurably of unsound 

mind, and (b) that the respondent had been so for 

a continuous period of not less than three years 

immediately before the filing of the petition. By the 

Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act 1976, the period 

of duration of unsoundness of mind has been 

omitted and elaborative clarifications have been 

made. The expression 'incurably of unsound mind' 

cannot be so widely interpreted as to cover feebleminded 

person or persons of dull intellect who 

understand the nature and consequences of their 

acts and are able, therefore, to control themselves 

and their affairs and their reactions in the normal 


way. Where this ground is taken for dissolution of 

marriage, the said ground must be proved by 

cogent and clear evidence beyond reasonable 

doubt so as to satisfy the court. Eccentricities do 

not constitute psychopathic disorder or any other 

kind of mental disorder. See Pankaj Mahajan 

v. Dimple@ kajal (2011) 12 SCC 1. 

Leprosy – In case of a „virulent and incurable‟ form of 

leprosy, a petition can be filed by the other spouse 

based on this ground. A petition for divorce may be 

presented by either party to the marriage on the 

ground that the respondent has been suffering from 

a virulent and incurable leprosy. Virulent means 

malignant or venomous. The onus to prove the 

ingredients of cl. (iv) of s. 13(1) is on the petitioner. 

When it is not disputed that the respondent has 

been suffering from leprosy, the onus is on the 

petitioner to establish that the leprosy is virulent 

and incurable. A spouse cannot be compelled to live 

with the other spouse who is suffering from an 

aggravated form of leprosy and who can give the 

petitioner and children leprosy almost any moment 

in their daily life. Thus the Legislature by a statute 

has given an aggrieved spouse a way of relief. See 


Swarajya Lakshmi V. G.C. Padma Rao AIR 1974 

(SC) 165. 

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. Venereal 

disease in a communicable form is a ground for 

obtaining a decree for dissolution of marriage. This 

ground affords also a ground for obtaining a decree 

for judicial separation. 

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. A divorce may be granted 

on the ground that the respondent 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. This is 

a legal presumption of death which is based on 

English law of evidence. The presumption is drawn 

by reason of the fact that if the person were living, 


the person would probably have communicated 

with some of his or her friends and relatives. This 

presumption under the provision of law is not rigid 

and death may even be presumed before lapse of 

seven years from proof of special circumstances. 

The onus of proving the absence of the respondent 

for the statutory period without being heard of as 

alive lies on the petitioner. The petitioner is 

required to give particulars relating to the last date 

of cohabitation, the date and place last seen the 

respondent and steps taken to trace the 

respondent. Evidence as to reasonable inquiry or 

search about the respondent is necessary to be 

adduced by the petitioner. But the onus of proving 

that the respondent is alive lies on the person who 

pleads so. 

Grounds for divorce in India: 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. 

Settlement 

Marriages belong to Heaven where as Divorce, is the devil's 

domain - complicated and traumatic. Divorce proceedings in 

India are intended to be lengthy affairs and this is backed 

by the belief that an extended litigation time span may allow 

couples to reconsider their decision for divorce. Also, 

because of the social non-acceptance of divorces and the 

reluctance of the affluent sections of society to expose their 

lives to the inevitable public glare, most high profile divorces 

have property settlements done out of the court. In most 

cases in India, the fulcrum of divorce litigation is alimony. 

Alimony in India is decided on the basis of income and 

background of the couple. In select cases, alimony paid to 

the wife is based on the standard of living enjoyed by the 

couple while married. Law on this aspect is still developing 

and there have been recent judgements which state that 

because of social changes where women are no longer 

dependent on their husbands or other family members, 

their pleas for alimony need to be looked into with all fact, 


and it should be ensured that one of the spouses should not 

be enriched at the cost of the other. As far as the issue of 

division of property is concerned, the same is primarily 

decided on the facts of each case and for this principles of 

equity are used. This is required because our law is not 

clear on the concept of common matrimonial property. It is 

deemed that a property in India belongs to the person in 

whose name it is bought, even if it has been acquired during 

the course of marriage. Hence, even if a wife pays for some 

property and it is in the name of her husband, there is no 

way to prove during divorce proceedings that it rightfully 

belongs to her unless the wife produces evidence that she 

had paid for the said property. A settlement is often entered in 

to the divorces by mutual consent and it settles all the conditions 

between the parties that will govern them at the time of the divorce 

and thereafter. Both the parties are bound by the these terms and 

conditions and there are less changes of backing out and in case 

one party to the agreement backs out then the other party can get 

the agreement enforced by the Court of law. 

Judicial Separation: An alternative to divorce 

Separation, instead of divorce, is an option that can be 

pursued by a married couple when their marriage is falling 

apart. Judicial separation is a sort of a last resort before the 

actual legal break up of marriage i.e. divorce. The reason for 

the presence of such a provision under Hindu Marriage Act 

is the anxiety of the legislature that the tensions and wear 


and tear of everyday life and the strain of living together do 

not result in abrupt break up of a marital relationship. 

There is no effect of a decree for judicial separation on the 

subsistence and continuance of the legal relationship of 

marriage as such between the parties. The effect however is 

on their co-habitation. Once a decree for judicial separation 

is passed, a husband or a wife, whosoever has approached 

the court, is under no obligation to live with his / her 

spouse. 

Judicial separation is different from a divorce. Being 

Judicially separated means spouses can live apart while 

retaining their marital status. The same issues addressed in 

a divorce are also addressed in a Judicial separation. It is 

important to arrive at a separation agreement one can live 

with long term. The main difference between separation and 

divorce is that divorce ends the marriage. Spouses return to 

an unmarried status and are thus are allowed to remarry. 

Separation lets couples keep their married status while 

acknowledging that they are no longer living together. A 

legal separation allows some cool-off time for a troubled 

couple and gives them a chance to reconcile their 

relationship, and if things work out well between the couple 

later, the legal separation can be ended and the couple can 

continue their marriage. 

What is Condonation: 


Under Indian laws pertaining to marriage disputes, 

condonation means pardoning a matrimonial offence such 

as adultery. The concept of condonation also involves 

reinstating the offending spouse to the same level of respect 

and mutual understanding that s/he enjoyed before 

committing the offence. It must be noted that a spouse 

cannot seek matrimonial relief on the ground of lapse by the 

other if it was already condoned. Almost all the statutes 

under Indian laws provide condonation as a bar for seeking 

matrimonial relief. Under Indian laws pertaining to marriage 

disputes, condonation means pardoning a matrimonial 

offence such as adultery. Condonation is one of the defenses 

to the fault grounds for divorce. Condonation is the 

forgiveness or acceptance by one spouse of the other 

spouse's wrongful behaviour that otherwise could be used 

as grounds for a divorce. 

An example of condonation is a husband who does not 

object to his wife's adultery. If the husband sues his wife for 

divorce, claiming she has committed adultery, the wife may 

argue as a defense that her husband condoned her 

behavior. The following are required for a court to find 

condonation and to deny a fault-based divorce: 

‣ The condoning spouse knows about the other 

spouse's wrongful behavior, 

‣ The condoning spouse forgives the offending spouse 

‣ The condoning spouse does not deny the offending 

spouse sexual relations 


The recent trend is to eliminate defenses in divorce cases, 

and states that have adopted marriage breakdown or a 

similar standard as the sole reason for divorce have 

eliminated condonation as a defense. 

Recognition of Foreign Court divorces in India 

A divorce obtained by an NRI from a foreign court without 

the spouse's submission to the jurisdiction of that court is 

invalid. A divorce granted by a foreign court on the ground 

of "irretrievable" breakdown of marriage is not recognised 

under the Hindu Marriage Act and the dissolution of 

marriage cannot be valid. If both parties are Indians and the 

marriage between them was solemnized in India according 

to Hindu rites and both are governed by the Hindu Marriage 

Act (HMA) then the marriage between them cannot be 

dissolved by way of a foreign decree. The Supreme Court in 

Y Narashimha Rao & ors V. Y.Venkata Lakshimi & Anr. 

(1991) 3 SCC 451 declined to give its imprimatur to foreign 

decree which did not take into consideration the provisions 

of Hindu Marriage Act under which the parties were 

married. The Supreme Court while interpreting Section 13 

of CPC has held that unless the respondent voluntarily and 

effectively submitted to the jurisdiction of the foreign court 

and contested the claim which is based on the grounds 

available in the matrimonial law under which the parties 

were married, the judgment of the foreign court could not be 

relied upon. Delhi High Court in the case of Pritam Ashok 

Sadaphule v. Hima Chugh (2013) 200 DLT 374, has 


efused to recognize a decree passed in a foreign court on 

the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Para 12 

of the said judgment reads as under :- 

“It is admitted position that both the parties 

are Indians and marriage between them was 

solemnised at New Delhi according to Hindu 

rites and ceremonies and both are governed 

by Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Their marriage 

has been dissolved by Ilford County Court in 

UK on the ground of having been broken 

down irretrievably which is not a ground for 

divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act…” 

Divorce is one of the most stressful things that can happen 

in a lifetime. Next to losing someone we care about, divorce 

ranks as a top stressor. Any time that we are under stress, 

we are vulnerable to making short-term reactive decisions 

that can have negative long-term effects. While avoiding 

emotional heartache is almost impossible, it is wise to be 

on alert and aware of some of the traps we may fall into. We 

should be committed to avoid the marriage breakups. 



Divorce Law – An Overview 

The thoughts collated in this module are that of the author and LawyerzDen shall take no responsibility under any 

copyright laws, for the same. The author may be directly contacted at sidharthkhatana@gmail.com

DIVORCE LAW

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