divorce in India

Indian law pertaining to collusion, condonation and delay are topics that have been covered on this LIG platform. Another important bar to matrimonial relief is the ‘One Year Bar’ which is becoming increasingly popular with every passing generation. This is a matter of public policy, which implies that one cannot file a petition for divorce within one year after the marriage takes place. The purpose of this bar is to ensure that couples give a fair trial to each other and try to make the marriage work well.

The process of getting a divorce in India may not be as easy as it is in the western countries. It may take years to terminate a marriage contract. This makes it important for the petitioner to go through the proceedings carefully, which include the application procedures and documents to be submitted.

A major obstacle to effective administration and implementation of laws in India is delay. It is a known fact that courts in India are struggling hard to clear its backlog of pending cases, which may date as far as two or three decades ago. To prevent late filing for marriage reliefs, the matrimonial law statutes in India provide ‘limitations’ to file and dispute a case before the court. As laypersons, late filing for matrimonial reliefs is not taken seriously. In fact, we don't realize the importance of filing on time but with this discussion, this will change for your own benefit.

German heiress Katrin Radmacher, one of the richest women in Germany, has been sued by her estranged French husband, Nicolas Granatino for obtaining a higher divorce settlement. Radmacher, worth approximately £100m, had signed a prenuptial agreement with Granatino before solemnizing their wedding in 1998 in London. Granatino is, however, challenging the legal validity of the prenup.

Polygyny is perhaps the most questioned principle in Islam. Opponents of the practice claim that Polygyny is an archaic concept that is extremely demeaning to women. However, the Qur’an supports Polygyny on practical grounds. Islam is considered to be a practical religion. It reinforces laws that help in preserving the harmony and morality of its followers while catering to the basic temptations and needs of human beings.

In modern Indian law, the term 'fraud' has been given a wider interpretation. Mere statements alleging fraud in the pleadings is not sufficient to establish a presumption of fraud in matrimonial law. Section 19 of the Indian Divorce Act contemplates fraud as a ground for divorce but the term has a broad scope.

In many Bollywood flicks, we have seen portions from courtroom drama where a woman is falsely implicated and established as ‘mentally unsound’ in a court of law. Those scenes where a woman is ruthlessly grilled with very confusing questions are not limited to reel life. At times, it happens in real life too. There is a good reason why this happens. A sound mental condition is a pre-requisite for a valid marriage under Indian laws.