What is procedure of the Family Divorce Law in India?
What is the procedure of the Family Divorce Law in India: Mutual Consent Divorce Procedure: Mutual Consent Divorce was brought by the Indian Parliament vide Amendment in the year 1976 in the Hindu Marriage Act.
Mutual Consent Divorce has brought relief. As a mutual consent divorce lawyer, it is desirable to suggest to parties to understand the futility of long-drawn litigation and thereby proceed towards mutual consent divorce
Annulment Of Marriage: A petition for the annulment of marriage is moved on certain grounds specified in various matrimonial laws.
Once a petitioner is successful in proving their case, the marriage is declared null and void. Resultantly, the court considers that the marriage has not taken place at all and the tag of the ‘divorcee‘ is not attached.
Annulment of marriage is very important in the scheme of matrimonial laws as there is no point in carrying the burden of divorce in cases where marriage has been solemnized on the strength of fraud or where the marriage is solemnized despite the fact that the responding spouse was already married.
Contested Divorce implies the party desirous of divorce approach the Family Court/Civil Court for the dissolution of the marriage. The spouse seeking divorce has to take one of the grounds provided under the law of contested divorce.
Divorce by Mutual Consent is the simplest and easiest way of dissolving marriage. Procedure for Mutual Consent Divorce is laid down as under for easy understanding:-
Both Parties ie Husband and Wife have to reach a Mutual understanding and agreement regarding the terms and conditions of Divorce.
On the basis of the settlement and agreement, a petition for Mutual Consent is drafted.
- Under Hindu Marriages, such a Petition is filed under section 13 B of the Hindu Marriage Act.
- Under Christian Marriages, section 10 A of the Indian Divorce Act.
- Under secular or civil marriages, section 28 of the Special Marriage Act.
A divorce Petition will be drafted which will include terms of settlement agreed between parties.
Such Mutual Consent Divorce Petition shall be filed in the Court as court proceedings.
Foreign Divorce
Divorce itself is complicated. Complication compounds and aggravate when it involves the Indian Law of Divorce and Foreign Divorce and issues arising out of the same.
General questions that arise from such a situation can be summed up as “Can a marriage which is solemnized in India be dissolved by a foreign Court? Can Indians living abroad (e.g. the US) file a case for Divorce in a foreign Court say US Court???
Whether a decree of divorce granted by a foreign Court says US Court valid, legal and binding in India?
Whether an expert decree of divorce granted by a foreign Court, says the US court, will be valid and binding in India?
Can Indian Court restrain a spouse who has instituted divorce proceedings in a foreign country??
Can a person file for divorce in a foreign country (say US Court)?
Is it necessary that if a divorcee decree is obtained from a foreign Court( say US Court) need to be validated in India by Indian Courts?
NRI Legal Services
Non-Resident Indians (NRI), Indian settled abroad or on work permit who are involved in matrimonial crisis often faces a complex situation of divorce, annulment and child custody and consequent legal proceedings.
They have the option of filing divorce cases in India. But, the biggest problem they face is direct interaction with his/her prospective Divorce Attorney to understand the complex issues of tarns-border divorce cases and NRI Divorce Laws, etc.
We at Divorce Lawyers have expertise in this area of Divorce which involves NRIs, etc
498A & Allied Criminal Proceedings
Presently, matrimonial cases are not confined to the realm of civil and family laws.
Such cases can have criminal character too. Generally, wherever there is cruelty exercised by the husband or his relative upon the wife in regard to the demand of dowry, a criminal case under section 498A of IPC is registered against the husband and the other relatives who were causing such cruelty or whose name is mentioned in the complaint by the wife.
Along with this, a case under section 406 of the IPC is registered for criminal breach of trust beside other provisions of the IPC and Dowry Prohibitions Act.
Maintenance
This is an integral part of all matrimonial proceedings. Application for maintenance can be moved by either of the spouses who do not have sufficient means to maintain him/herself. Maintenance can also be classified into two parts:
Interim Maintenance: Such maintenance is provided during the pendency of the case in court. The underlying idea behind giving such maintenance is that one party should not lose and stand on a weaker footing at the time of contesting the case.
The Quantum of such maintenance is dependent on a variety of factors but the most important aspect is the status of the parties prior to the filing of the case and the income/salary of the spouse against whom such maintenance is claimed.
The court always tries to bring both the party an equal platform and footing.
Child Custody
In divorce proceedings, the most complex and emotionally drenching issue is that of child custody. Children, young and at times infants have to bear the pain for no fault of theirs.
Due to the extreme emotional attachment, both parents want to keep custody of the children. In the Indian set-up, such a question is decided by the court of Guardian and Wards.
The welfare of the children is the paramount consideration before the Court while deciding the question as to who is entitled to have custody of children. Custody of children can be divided into three parts:
Permanent Custody: After determining all issues, Court grants permanent custody of children to one of the parties.
Interim Custody: During the pendency of the case and otherwise, the court can grant interim custody to one of the spouses. It is also possible that Court grants interim custody of children to the other parent at times on vacations, holidays etc.
Visitation Rights: Every parent has an inalienable right to meet and see his/her children. Even after winning the case of custody of children by one parent, another parent cannot be denied the right to meet and see his/her children.
In disposing of such cases, Court awards reasonable visitation right to the other parents and fix up the time and days for the meeting with his/ her children so that the emotional ties are not broken between the child and the other parent.
Judicial Separation
Judicial Separation is generally a step towards divorce. Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act Judicial Separation is generally a step towards divorce.
Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides grounds for judicial separation. It is akin to grounds for divorce. Grounds, processes and procedures for Judicial Separation are the same as in the case of a contested divorce.
You may read https://legallightconsulting.com/practice/contested-divorce/ for easy understanding.
On successfully proving the case for judicial separation by the party initiating the process, Court passes a decree of judicial separation. It implies that the party may live separately.
