Theme: Divorce

Under the law, the divorce proceedings in Court may be held ‘in camera’, i.e, cases that are those carried out in private, in the absence of the public and the press. The Family Court may direct the parties to use in camera proceedings or one of the parties can make a request for this, which will be considered by the Family Court.

For example, Seema has filed a case against Deb for divorce. During the case, because of the amount of sexual abuse faced by the wife, Seema, she may request the Court to conduct in-camera proceedings keeping in mind the sensitive nature of her case.

If your husband has converted to Islam, you can apply for divorce stating this reason. And since the marriage was performed as per Hindu law, the divorce will also be governed by Hindu law, even if your husband is not a Hindu anymore.

No, you cannot give your spouse’s leprosy as a reason for divorce. It used to exist as a reason, but the Supreme Court struck it down. There is even a bill pending in Parliament to amend all personal laws for removing leprosy as a reason for divorce.

The details of the reconciliation methods, which include mediation, conciliation and discussions with family counsellors, are not supposed to be part of the records of the Court or disclosed to any third party. This is done to respect and maintain the privacy of the husband and wife. So, neither the Court nor the lawyers will know what you said during the mediation.

The difference between the two reconciliation methods is that, in the process of mediation, the mediator assists the parties to arrive at a solution while in conciliation, the conciliator himself proposes solutions to solve the problems of the spouses during the divorce. For example, if you and your spouse go to a mediator, he will assist you in deciding about the future of your marital life while a conciliator will give you options on how to decide your future.

No, if you never intended to abandon her, then she cannot claim desertion as a ground for divorce. Intention to desert a spouse plays an important role in getting a decree of divorce. However, you must also make that clear in your response to her divorce petition.

No, cheating on your spouse is not a criminal offence. Adultery used to be a crime under the Indian Penal Code, but the Supreme Court recently struck it down.

In the end, the Court will keep in mind the following circumstances while making a decision:

• The best interest of of your children.
• Any possibility of reconciliation between the you and your spouse.
• In cases of cruelty,
  • The nature of the conduct or cruel treatment. For example, the Court would consider whether your spouse is harassing you for money or does acts to humiliate you.
  • The impact of such treatment on the mind of the spouse and whether it would be harmful or injurious to his or her life. For example, if your spouse harasses you for dowry, then it would impact you monetarily and affect your marital life.

Continuous harassment by your spouse may amount to mental cruelty in some cases, and may even be valid grounds for a divorce. However generally, actions such as creating hurdles relating to your professional life, or humiliating you in front of your colleagues or boss, need to be in addition to other actions such as instituting dishonest cases against you, etc.

However, there is no one strict formula for granting a divorce, and each order for divorce is granted based on the specific facts of your case. Therefore, depending on factors such as the extent of harassment, the mental trauma you have suffered, and the regularity of these occurrences, a divorce may be granted. For legal advice relevant to your experiences, please contact a lawyer.

Yes, you can even apply for a residence order requesting the Court to direct your husband to either provide or pay for accommodation.