Saturday 22 December 2012

Jurisdiction to file a divorce petition in India



JURISDICTION FOR FILLING OF PETITION FOR DIVORCE


-a court capable of entertaining matrimonial cases
-a court that has territorial jurisdiction over the place of marriage, the place where the couple last resided together, and the place where the respondent spouse currently resides. If the respondent resides abroad, then the petition can also be filed in India the place of residence of the petitioner
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'Women can file for divorce anywhere'
TNN Jul 13, 2010, 02.30am IST
CHENNAI: In a crucial ruling that is sure to cheer up women fighting divorce cases with husbands residing in a foreign country, the Madras high court has said that the family court in India had jurisdiction to try matrimonial litigation even if the husband is a citizen of a foreign country and not an ordinary resident of India.
A division bench comprising Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice KK Sasidharan pointed out that the amended Section 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act extended to outside India. "The fact that the husband is residing outside the territory does not prevent the wife from applying before the local designated court to redress her grievances," the bench said.
Source : The Time of India.

How to file annulment-Nullity of Marriage in India


 Annulment or Nullity of marriage means that the marriage has not happened at all. After getting the annulment or nullity decree, the status of the individual is UNMARRIED/SINGLE,


 Conditions of the annulment of the marriage are:

a.     The marriage has not been consummated ( no sexual relationship has occurred between the husband and wife)

b.    It should not have been in the prohibitive relationships (Husband and wife cannot be as brother and sister, like first or second cousin, or through same father and different mother etc., unless accepted by the caste)

c.     This marriage should not have happened through fraud or force and without the consent of both the individuals to the marriage.

d.    The marriage should not have happened through the concealment of the facts. (like either parties were married before and later divorced, or have a child through previous relationship)

e.    The parties of the marriage should not have the contagious disease which cannot be cured within the specified period of 1 year.

f.      The parties of marriage should not be impotent or have the disease which can be unable to bear the family.

g.    The parties of the marriage should not be of unsound mind.


h. The parties of the marriage should not be in any marriage earlier, and if the marriage has happened, the divorce should have been happened (except for Muslims) before the second marriage.

3 it is mandatory to be filed within one year of the marriage or 1 year from the date when the fraud came into light.

4. The process of annulment is same as other case like divorce or RCR

5. The time taken depends on the co-operation from other party.


What the law Says about Annulment or Nullity of marriage under Hindu marriage Act,1955.


Section 12 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 deals with
Voidable Marriages- (1) Any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be voidable and may be annulled by a decree of nullity on any of the following grounds, namely:-
(a) that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotency of the respondent; or
(b) that the marriage is in contravention of the condition specified in clause (ii) of Section 5; or
(c) that the consent of the petitioner, or where the consent of the guardian in marriage of the petitioner was required under Section 5 as it stood immediately before the commencement of the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978, the consent of such guardian was obtained by force or by fraud as to the nature of the ceremony or as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the respondent; or
(d) that the respondent was at the time of the marriage pregnant by some person other than the petitioner.
2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no petition for annulling a marriage-
(a) on the ground specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained if-
(i) the petition is presented more than one year after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered ; or
(ii) the petitioner has, with his or her full consent, lived with the other party to the marriage as husband or wife after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered;
(b) on the ground specified in clause (d) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained unless the court is satisfied-
(i) that the petitioner was at the time of the marriage ignorant of the facts alleged;
(ii) that proceedings have been instituted in the case of a marriage solemnized before the commencement of this Act within one year of such commencement and in the case of marriages solemnized after such commencement within one year from the date of the marriage; and
(iii) that marital intercourse with the consent of the petitioner has not taken place since the discovery by the petitioner of the existence of the said ground.


How to file a Divorce Case Petition in India


The procedure of filing a divorce:


According to the Indian divorce laws there are mainly two ways to obtain you divorce, the mutual divorce and the contested divorce. In case of a mutual divorce, you can have a talk with your estranged spouse to come to a settlement and get a “no-fault divorce”. If you are seeking a contested divorce, you can file your divorce on the grounds that are specified under the particular Indian marriage act that you are entitled to. There are separate divorce laws for Hindus, Christians, Parsis and Muslims. Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists are governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for filing for divorce in India. Laws are even laid down for Inter-cast marriages under the Special Marriage Act, 1956.

Grounds for filing Divorce in India under Hindu marriage Act,1955.
GROUND ON WHICH MARRIAGE CAN BE DISSOLVED:
1.      Adultery
2.      Cruelty
3.      Desertion and failure to maintain
4.      Conversion to another religion
5.      Incurable mental disorder
6.      Incurable mental disorder which may result in abnormally aggressive   or irresponsible  behavior
7.      Virulent and incurable leprosy, or communicable venereal disease not  contracted from the party filing the application.
8.      Renunciation of worldly life.
The parties may decide to seek divorce by mutual consent, having decided that they do not want to live together. In such a petition, they need not disclose their reasons for making such a decision.
Muslim personal law also grants several options for the husband to seek divorce without approaching the court. The wife would be entitled to maintenance and dower and also to appeal the divorce in court.

How to file Mutual Divorce Petition


Procedure to file Mutual Consent Divorce in India:

For a mutual divorce procedure in India, you can come to an agreement with your spouse where you may resolve all kinds of disputes regarding maintenance, custody of children and such.
Under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, a husband and wife can file a mutual divorce only when they have lived apart for at least a year. The couple must jointly mention about their inability to continue the marital relationship due to some unavoidable circumstances. Both the sides must voluntarily agree to dissolve the marriage.

The filing of a mutual divorce by both the husband and the wife is termed as ‘the first motion’. A couple can file for a second motion after a gap of six months. The six months time span is provided to the couple so that they get the time to reconsider their marriage.

A divorce decree can be passed before the completion of the six months term if all the mandatory requirements for the divorce are sufficed. If the divorce file is not withdrawn within eighteen months the court passes a divorce decree. In case one of the sides withdraws his/her petition the court initiates to make an enquiry. If the concerned side disagrees to give the consent, the court holds no right to pass the divorce judgement.

What the Laws says on Mutual Divorce:

13B of Hindu Marriage Act,1955,
Divorce by mutual consent.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce may be presented to the district court by both the parties to a marriage together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws Amendment Act, 1976 , (68 of 1976 .) on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that thy have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.
(2) On the motion of both the parties made not earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub- section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the meantime, the court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.