Divorce is the legal dissolution of marriage. The Indian Divorce Law was drafted into the Indian legal system in 1869. In India, divorce rules and procedures vary depending on the community of the couple. Divorce is one of the most traumatic misfortunes for any couple, and the whole process of divorce from emotional ups and downs to contesting the long-awaited divorce judgment for several months is certainly a difficult affair to overcome. Before opting for divorce, you should know that divorce proceedings in India take almost a year and in some special cases of litigation the proceedings can take years.
Whether or not both spouses agree to divorce, before a couple can initiate divorce proceedings, one of the spouses must file a lawsuit asking the court to end the marriage. The applicant spouse must include the following information:
A statement informing the court that at least one of the spouses meets the state residency conditions for the divorce
A legal ground - or grounds - for divorce,
Any other legal information required by your state.
Divorce according to Hindu law is classified into two types:
Mutual Divorce: Under Hindu Marriage Act, mutual divorce is governed by Section 13B. As the name suggests, in a mutual divorce, both parties, husband, and wife, agree and express their consent to a peaceful separation. Husbands and wives should determine in advance the issues of child support and possible custody. There are only two conditions for applying for mutual divorce, one is mutual consent and the other is that they must live apart for at least a year.
Contested divorce: When a divorce is initiated by one of the spouses, it is called a contested divorce. Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides grounds for filing a contested divorce, some of which are cruelty, religious conversion, insanity, communicable disease or one of the spouses has been unknown for over seven years.
Divorce by mutual consent can be obtained within six months, but no request in such a case can be filed within the first year of marriage. In addition, an interval of six months must elapse between the first and the second request. The court may waive this cooling-off period in certain cases. Thus, in the event of a divorce by mutual agreement, it usually takes 18-24 months.
In the event of a contested divorce, the period is longer, ranging from three to five years due to complications and the possibility for one of the parties to appeal the decision of the High Court and the Supreme Court.