This recent news about making “irretrievable breakdown of marriage” a ground for divorce has led to many people talking about how beneficial it will be for the separated couples who cannot get divorce under Hindu Marriage Act as it currently exists. The only problem is the definition of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Most likely, it will not be granted for less than 5 years of separation. Then again, it will be need to be proved to the satisfaction of the court. Given the time taken by Indian courts, who is to say how many more years it might take once …[Continue Reading]
Mumbai HC waives 6 month waiting period in mutual divorce
Bombay High Court (when will they switch to calling themselves Mumbai HC, next century?) has decided that 6 months waiting period in mutual consent divorce under Sec 13 of HMA is not required if a divorce petition between couple was already pending in court and was converted to mutual consent divorce. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Divorce-cases-HC-says-scrap-6-month-cool-off-period/articleshow/5695938.cms The case pertained to a couple married under the Hindu Marriage Act in 2005, who had lived together for a year before separating. The husband then filed for divorce a year later. Both traded charges of cruelty and harassment, but soon agreed to bury the hatchet and withdrew …[Continue Reading]
Foreign courts’ jurisdiction cannot be denied in family cases
From recent news below, it is clear that in case of marriage and residence of a couple abroad, when jurisdiction of foreign country’s courts apply in matter of family law; it is incorrect on part of an Indian court to try out a family law matter. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lower-courts-cant-judge-child-custody-battle-for-nris-rules-high-court/588981/2 But following marital discord, Shweta came to Delhi in June 2008 with their child and decided against returning to her “abusive” husband. In Delhi, she filed a custody petition before a city court to get the child’s custody. Sunil, on the other hand, filed a child custody petition in the Superior Court of …[Continue Reading]
How to claim maintenance from wife?
First you should thank the farsighted lawmakers of yore who made the Section 24 (maintenance during litigation) and Section 25 (maintenance or permanent alimony after divorce) of HMA (Hindu Marriage Act, 1955) gender neutral. What that means is that anyone of the needy parties can claim maintenance from the other. Now read the news below and get inspired to change the world, one step at a time. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chennai/man-wants-rs-25-lakh-ex-wife-448 Chennai Nov. 21: In an unusual case, a 43-year-old civil engineer has approached the family courts here seeking alimony Rs 25 lakh from his ex-wife, an assistant professor at a reputed university, …[Continue Reading]
Don’t go to family courts for in-laws’ property: Delhi HC
Delhi High court has recently said in a judgment that warring spouses in a dispute cannot drag other family members into the family court. It is about time that such a decision was delivered since a cottage industry of clueless lawyers is taking advantage of gullible people by promising them what is not possible under law. Read the news below (emphasis added is mine): http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_don-t-go-to-family-courts-for-in-laws-property-hc_1338107 Except for warring spouses, no relative can be dragged to a family court (FC) and the forum won’t entertain claims on property owned by in-laws. In a significant judgment on Thursday, the Delhi high court …[Continue Reading]
Delhi High Court slaps fine for vexatious maintenance case on already divorced woman
Justice S N Dhingra of Delhi High Court gives a judgment which bars a woman who was having a prior mutually agreed divorce settlement from filing a fresh maintenance case on husband. The interesting part is that court slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on the woman for filing a frivolous and vexatious case. See news below: http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a110246.html The Delhi High Court Monday slapped a fine on a woman for contempt, taking serious note of the fact that she had concealed she was employed and continued to claim maintenance from her husband, and filed cases against him despite an undertaking …[Continue Reading]
Have a short marriage, and screw husband for life!
I read with interest the news item reported in DNA Mumbai, esp. the headline which is so deceptive. The headline says – Short marriage, small alimony http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_short-marriage-small-alimony_1336414 Well, here is my take on this deceptive, putting wool over the eyes of public kind of news headline. The news says: A wife of two and a half months wanted her separated husband to bear the expenses of her higher education in the US. The Bombay high court said no. The court refused to enhance the interim maintenance for the woman, a Pune-based dentist. So far so good… we are on track, …[Continue Reading]
Principles and procedures in deciding maintenance under HMA 24
This Delhi High Court(HC) judgment talks about the fact that if wife withdrew large sums of money from joint account of husband, which could not be accounted for in household expenditure; then trial court was not correct in award of maintenance amount without taking this fact into consideration. The case was sent back to trial court to take into account this crucial fact. ——————————————————————– IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI SUBJECT : SECTION 13(1)(I)(A) OF THE HINDU MARRIAGE ACT CM(M) No.367/2007 RESERVED ON : 02-04-2007 DATE OF DECISION: 17-04-2007 Alok Kumar Jain ……. Petitionerthrough: Mr.Sandeep Sethi, Sr. …[Continue Reading]
Marriage expenses cannot be returned to wife/in-laws
Here is a judgment of Mumbai High court which says that there is no provision in law for return of marriage expenses. The said judgment is in context of a nullified marriage on grounds of epilepsy of wife which was not disclosed before marriage. However, it seems clear from judgment that no provision exists in law for return of marriage expenses in case of divorce either. http://indiankanoon.org/doc/462782/ Full text of the judgment with relevant sentences in bold follows: Equivalent citations: AIR 2005 Bom 62, 2005 (1) BomCR 591, 2004 (4) MhLj 1052 Bench: S Mhase, R Mohite Sudha Suhas Nandanvankar …[Continue Reading]
Threat of suicide can be ground for divorce under mental cruelty
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Suicide-threats-amount-to-cruelty-can-be-a-divorce-ground-HC/articleshow/5404502.cmsMUMBAI: Repeated attempts to commit suicide as well the threats to commit suicide could amount to “cruelty”, and it can very well be a ground for seeking divorce, the Bombay High Court has held. The family court in Pune granted divorce to Varsha and Prakash (both names changed) on the application made by Prakash in 2002, against which Varsha had filed appeal. Both had been living separately for the last seventeen years. Prakash’s application for divorce was on the ground that his wife was temperamental, she frequently fought with him, and threatened to commit suicide. In her statement before the …[Continue Reading]
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