Matrimonial Remedies — Divorce, Section 13 — KSLU Family Law 1 Notes

Matrimonial Remedies — Divorce, Section 13

flowchart LR
    A["Hindu Marriage Act 1955 —<br/>No divorce right before 1955"]:::old
    A --> B["S.13(1) — Fault Grounds<br/>Adultery, Cruelty, Desertion (2 yrs),<br/>Conversion, Insanity, Disease"]:::ground
    B --> C["S.13B — Mutual Consent<br/>1 yr separation + agree + cool-off"]:::ground
    C --> D["Naveen Kohli v. Neelu Kohli (2006) —<br/>SC recommends 'irretrievable<br/>breakdown' as a ground"]:::milestone

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Before 1955, a Hindu wife had no right to divorce — a husband could abandon her, and she remained tied to him for life. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 changed that by recognising fault-based grounds (adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion, etc.) and, later, divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B.

Section 13(2) — additional grounds available only to the wife: husband’s pre-Act second marriage where another wife is alive, husband guilty of rape/sodomy/bestiality, a decree/order of maintenance has been passed against the husband and cohabitation has not resumed for a year, or the wife was married before age 15 and repudiated the marriage before turning 18 (the “option of puberty,” S.13(2)(iv)).