Grounds for Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a wife has two sets of grounds for filing a divorce petition. She can use the common grounds available to both spouses, as well as four special grounds reserved exclusively for women.

1. Common Grounds (Section 13(1))

A wife can seek divorce if the husband has committed any of the following:

• Adultery: Had voluntary sexual intercourse with another person.

• Cruelty: Subjected her to physical or mental torture.

• Desertion: Abandoned her for a continuous period of at least two years.

• Conversion: Ceased to be a Hindu.

• Insanity: Suffers from an incurable mental disorder.

• Leprosy/Venereal Disease: Suffers from a virulent, incurable, or communicable form of these diseases.

• Renunciation: Has renounced the world by entering a religious order.

• Presumption of Death: Has not been heard of as being alive for seven years or more.

2. Special Grounds for the Wife (Section 13(2))

The Act provides these additional protections specifically for a wife. These grounds are not applicable for the husband.

• Bigamy [Section 13(2)(i)]: If the husband had married another woman before the commencement of the Act, or if he married again while the first marriage was subsisting, and the other wife is still alive.

• Sexual Offenses [Section 13(2)(ii)]: If the husband has, since the solemnization of the marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy, or bestiality.

• Non-Resumption of Cohabitation after Maintenance [Section 13(2)(iii)]: If a decree or order for maintenance (under Section 125 CrPC or the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act) has been passed against the husband, and the parties have not lived together for one year or more since the order.

• Repudiation of Marriage [Section 13(2)(iv)]: Known as the "Option of Puberty." If she was married before she turned 15 years old, she can reject the marriage after turning 15 but before reaching 18 years old.

3. Divorce by Mutual Consent (Section 13B)

Alternatively, the wife can file a joint petition with her husband if they have lived separately for one year, have been unable to live together, and have mutually agreed to dissolve the marriage.