While "dissolution" usually refers to divorce, the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955, provides three distinct categories of matrimonial remedies that end the marital relationship or the obligation to live together:
Divorce (Section 13):
Fault Grounds (Section 13(1)): Marriage can be dissolved on grounds such as adultery, cruelty, desertion (for at least 2 years), conversion, unsoundness of mind, leprosy, venereal disease, or world renunciation.
Divorce by Mutual Consent (Section 13B): Introduced in 1976, this allows both parties to jointly petition for divorce if they have lived separately for one year and cannot live together.
Void Marriages (Section 11):
A marriage is considered null and void from the beginning (ab initio) if it violates essential conditions like bigamy, prohibited degrees of relationship, or sapinda relationship. A decree of nullity is used here.
Voidable Marriages (Section 12):
The marriage is valid until it is challenged. Grounds for annulment include impotence, lack of valid consent (due to force or fraud), or if the respondent was pregnant by someone else at the time of marriage.
Judicial Separation (Section 10):
This does not dissolve the marriage bond but legally relieves the parties of the obligation to cohabit. It is often a "stepping stone" to divorce if reconciliation fails after one year.
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