The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is based upon the fault theory, and contains nine fault grounds under which a marriage can be terminated by a decree of Divorce.
A petition can be filed by the husband or wife under the following
grounds:-
➤Adultery
➤Cruelty
➤Desertion
➤Conversion
➤Insanity
➤Resume
➤Venereal Disease
➤Presumption of Death
Adultery
The word Adultery is defined as consensual sexual relationship between a married woman and an individual other than his /her spouse.
Under the Section 497 of Indian Penal Code it Adultery is defined as:
“Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offense of rape, is guilty of the offense of Adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years or with fine or with both”.
However on 27.09.2018 a five justices Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India unanimously struck down this Section 497 of the India Penal Code and now it is no longer as offence in India, and declared that Adultery cannot be a criminal offence, but it can be ground for civil issues like Divorce.
According to Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, may on a Petition presented by either the husband or wife, be dissolved by a decree of Divorce on the ground that the other party has, after the solemnization of the marriage, had voluntary sexual intercourse with any person than his or her spouse.
In general
language we can say that, Adultery is the consensual and voluntary intercourse
between a married person with another person, married or unmarried of the
opposite sex, and it is a ground for divorce.
Even a single act of Adultery is sufficient to file a decree of Divorce and this Act is commonly applied on both husband & wife.
Cruelty
It is another ground for divorce and it can be mental Cruelty or physical Cruelty. Physical Cruelty can be any form of physical violence, and mental cruelty can be any form of emotional or psychological abuse.
If one spouse has a reasonable apprehension in the mind that the conduct of the other spouse is likely to be injurious or harmful, then on the ground of Cruelty divorce can be obtained. However, there should be a series of incidents of Cruelty.
A spouse can file a divorce case before the family court, when he/she is subjected to any kind of mental or physical cruelty that causes danger to life/limb and health.
Prior to amendment in the Marriage Laws in 1976, it was only a ground for judicial separation and not a ground for divorce.
According to Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, may on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife , be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party has , after the solemnization of the marriage , treated the petitioner with Cruelty.
Cruelty may be as follows:-
➣Demand of
dowry
➣Refusal to
have marital intercourse /children
➣Impotency
➣False
allegations of marital of adultery or unchastity
➣Threat to
commit suicide
➣Birth of
child
➣Drunkenness
➣False
complaints by wife or husband to the employer
➣Incompatibility
of temperament
➣Unrecoverable marriage of marriage
In the matter of Mayadevi Versus Jagdish Prasad, Case No. Appeal (Civil) 877/2007, Judgment passed on 21.02.2007, the Supreme Court of India held that, Any kind of mental cruelty faced by either of the spouses not just the woman but men as well can apply for a divorce after a repeated Of course of cruelty inflicted by his wife and as alleged by the husband, that the wife did not provide food to him and his children and blamed the husband and his family members instead.
Desertion
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