Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

The appellant, S. Nagalingam, was first married to Sivagami on 6 September 1970. While that marriage subsisted, he contracted a second marriage with Kasturi on 18 June 1984 in a temple in Tamil Nadu, where garlanding and tying of the thali were performed. The trial court acquitted him, holding that the essential "Sapta…

The deceased K.T. Subramanya had taken four life insurance policies naming his mother, Challamma, as nominee. After his death, his alleged wife Tilaga and their two children applied for a succession certificate under Section 372 of the Succession Act, 1925, claiming the deceased was married to Tilaga. Challamma contest…

The appeal arose from a Karnataka High Court decision on a partition suit involving children born of a void second marriage. The petitioners claimed that the children of the void marriage were illegitimate and therefore not coparceners in the ancestral property, while the respondents argued they were entitled to a shar…

The husband filed a petition for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty and desertion, alleging that his wife removed and threw her mangalsutra, preserved copies of letters she had written to him, and sought the intervention of the Women Protection Cell under IPC 498A. The trial court granted divorce on the basis of …

The appellant, Kuldeep Singh, was charged under Sections 366, 376 and 506 IPC for alleged abduction and rape of his wife, Respondent No.3, after she filed a statement alleging forced marriage. The appellant contended that the marriage was solemnised voluntarily under Sikh rites and that, under Exception 2 to Section 37…

The marriage between Sau. Jiya and Kuldeep was dissolved by a family court on the ground of cruelty, a decree later affirmed by the High Court. After the husband remarried in 2019, the parties disputed a permanent alimony settlement, with the wife seeking a lump‑sum amount and the husband contesting his income and asse…

The appellants filed a partition suit based on three sale deeds executed by Rosammal and Mariammal in their favour. The respondents challenged the deeds, arguing that the vendors' mother, Kochammal, could not inherit her son Kumaraswami's share because she was allegedly a Christian, rendering the deeds invalid. The tri…

The husband filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act seeking divorce on the grounds of cruelty and the wife’s incurable unsound mind, alleging that she suffered from schizophrenia and repeatedly threatened suicide. The trial court granted the decree, but the High Court set it aside, holding that the …

The husband, Dr. B.V. Ravi, filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act alleging desertion, and also sought restitution of conjugal rights. The Family Court found no proof of desertion and granted restitution, but the wife, Dr. Malathi Ravi, later lodged FIRs against the husband, lead…

Manish Jain filed for divorce against his wife Akanksha Jain, who subsequently sought interim maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, claiming she had no independent income. The trial court dismissed her application, but the Delhi High Court later ordered the husband to pay Rs.60,000 per month in additi…

The appellant, Smt. N. Usha Rani, married her first husband in 1999, separated and executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2005, and subsequently married the respondent twice, the second marriage being registered. The respondent obtained a decree declaring the first marriage void and later filed a criminal revi…

M. V. Chandrakanth (appellant) challenged a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court that had set aside a Single Judge's order dismissing a writ petition filed by Respondent No.1, who claimed Other Backward Class (OBC) reservation as a member of the Ganiga caste. The central issue was whether a person belonging to th…

K. Doddananjundaiah, a coparcener, had three daughters by his first wife and a son Dinesh by a second wife Yashodamma. After K's death, the daughters (appellants) claimed a one‑third share of the partitioned property, contending that the second marriage was void and that Dinesh, born after the Hindu Succession Act 1956…

Rakhi Sadhukhan filed for divorce from Raja Sadhukhan and was awarded permanent alimony of Rs.20,000 per month with a 5% increase every three years by the Calcutta High Court. She later contended that the amount was insufficient given the husband’s higher income and the standard of living she enjoyed during the marriag…

The trial court declared the marriage between Smt. Lata and her husband Vilas null under Section 12(1)(d) of the Hindu Marriage Act because the wife was pregnant by another man. While the wife appealed, the husband remarried, and the lower courts held the appeal infructuous, dismissing it. The Supreme Court examined wh…

The appellant, a wife, sought maintenance under Section 18 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act after separating from her husband, who later obtained an ex‑parte divorce decree and remarried. The Family Court granted modest maintenance, which the High Court later enhanced, but the appellant argued that the respond…

After a mutual consent divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the mother remarried a famous cricketer and sought exclusive custody of their 9‑year‑old daughter. The Family Court awarded custody to the father, but the Karnataka High Court reversed that decision, granting the mother exclusive custody with visitation…

The parties, married in 2009, have been living apart since 2016, with the mother, Mrs. Ritika Sharan, caring for their son Sattik while employed in Singapore. The father, Mr. Sujoy Ghosh, obtained interim orders from the Family Court restraining the mother from taking the child out of Bengaluru and granting him visitat…

The appellant Ilavarasan married Mathithra under Section 7A of the Hindu Marriage Act, with the assistance of advocates and social workers, and later filed a habeas corpus petition alleging that she was being detained by her parents and forced to marry her maternal uncle. The Madras High Court dismissed the petition, h…

The wife and husband were married in Goa under Hindu rites and the marriage was registered there. The husband filed a petition under Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 in Goa seeking annulment. The wife, who had been residing in the United Kingdom and later in Delhi, filed a petition under Section 25 of the Cod…

The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 on the grounds of desertion and cruelty. The Family Court examined the evidence in detail and granted the decree of divorce. The wife appealed, and the High Court set aside the Family Court's decree, holding that there were no spe…

The husband filed for divorce under Sections 12(1)(b) and 13(1)(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, seeking a court order that his wife undergo a medical examination to determine unsoundness of mind. The District Judge ordered the examination, the High Court dismissed the revision, and the wife appealed to the Supreme Cour…

The wife, a government lecturer, filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act for divorce and sought maintenance for her two minor sons under Section 125 of the CrPC and Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court granted modest maintenance and custody to the mother, which the High Court later…

The plaintiffs, heirs of the deceased Gulaba Singh, sued Surjit Kaur for possession of his property, claiming they were the nearest heirs under a will. Surjit Kaur counter‑claimed that she was Gulaba Singh's legally wedded wife under a Karewa form of marriage and that they lived as husband and wife. The trial court and…

The wife, Jasbir Kaur Sehg al, filed for divorce and, having no income, was supporting her eldest unmarried daughter. She applied for maintenance pendente lite under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which the High Court had enhanced to Rs 1500 per month. The Supreme Court examined whether maintenance should also c…

The Supreme Court heard an appeal by Bhaskar Lal Sharma and Vimla Sharma against a Delhi High Court order that quashed a summoning order issued under Sections 498A, 403, 405, 406 and 34 of the IPC. The Court examined the complaint filed by Monica, the wife of Vikas Sharma, and found that the allegations did not satisfy…

The appellant, a woman who obtained a divorce by mutual consent under Section 13(B) of the Hindu Marriage Act, later filed an application for maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The trial magistrate dismissed the application, holding that a divorcee could not claim maintenance, but the Sess…

The wife and husband entered into a registered customary divorce agreement in 1996, with the wife receiving permanent alimony. The husband remarried in 1998, and ten years later the wife filed a complaint alleging cruelty under Section 498A IPC and bigamy under Section 494 IPC, leading to an FIR. The High Court exercis…

Surya and Mayura Vadanan, both British citizens, married in India and had two daughters in the UK. In August 2012 Mayura brought the children to India and filed for divorce. Surya obtained an interim order from the High Court of Justice in England making the children wards of that court and directing the mother to retu…

The husband filed a petition for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, alleging cruelty by his wife. The trial court, and subsequently the High Court, found that the wife was the victim of cruelty and that the husband could not establish cruelty on her part. The husband also sought divorce on the ground of "irret…

The case concerned the entitlement to family pension and death‑cum‑retirement gratuity of a deceased government employee who had two wives. The first wife, Rameshwari Devi, claimed the benefits for herself and her son, while the second wife, Yogmaya Devi, claimed benefits for herself and her four sons, asserting a vali…

Bakulabai filed a Section 125 CrPC application for maintenance for herself and her son, claiming a lawful marriage with Ganga Ram, who denied the marriage and alleged prior existing marriages. The Judicial Magistrate granted maintenance, but the Sessions Judge reversed the decision; the High Court dismissed Bakulabai's…

Smt. Yamunabai married Anantrao Shivram Adhav in June 1974 while he already had a living wife. The marriage, performed under Hindu rites, was challenged for maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The trial court and the Bombay High Court dismissed her claim. The Supreme Court examined whether a w…

The appellant, an unmarried woman, lived with the respondent, a married man, for about 14 years and claimed that his failure to maintain her constituted domestic violence under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. The respondent argued that their relationship was a mere live‑in arrangement, not a "…

Dr. Amit Kumar and Dr. Sonila, both doctors posted with the CRPF, obtained a decree of divorce by mutual consent in 2016 which stipulated that custody of their two minor children would vest with the father, with each parent bearing the expenses of one child. After the father was transferred to Jammu, the children were …

The husband filed a divorce petition under the Hindu Marriage Act in the Family Court at Ujjain. The wife applied to the Madhya Pradesh High Court under Section 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) to have the case transferred to a court in Malegaon, Maharashtra, and the High Court ordered the transfer. The husband …

The appellant married respondent No.1, who had previously concealed her existing marriage and presented a forged divorce decree, inducing the appellant to part with Rs. 2 lakh and later discover her pregnancy. The appellant filed a criminal complaint alleging cheating and criminal conspiracy under Sections 420 and 120‑…

Sh. Rakesh Raman filed a petition for divorce under Sections 13(1)(ia) and (ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging cruelty and desertion by his wife, Smt. Kavita. The parties had been living apart for about 25 years, with no children, and had been involved in multiple criminal litigations against each other. The trial…

Raman Nair contracted a second marriage while his first wife was alive, violating Section 5 of the Madras Marumakkattayam Act, 1932, which rendered the second marriage void. After the Act was repealed by the Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975, the appellants claimed that the repeal validated the sec…

The case involved two senior IAS officers who married under the Special Marriage Act in 1984. The wife unilaterally decided not to have children, refused cohabitation, neglected her husband during illness, insulted him and eventually forced him out of their home, leading to a separation that lasted over sixteen years. …

Joydeep Majumdar, an Army officer, filed for divorce on the ground of mental cruelty, alleging that his wife, Bharti Jaiswal Majumdar, repeatedly made defamatory complaints to his superiors, the State Women Commission, and on public platforms, which damaged his career and reputation. The Family Court granted the divorc…

Saraswathy, married to Babu in 2000, was subjected to dowry demands and was thrown out of the matrimonial home. She filed a petition under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking protection, residence and maintenance orders. Although the trial magistrate granted these orders, Babu repeatedly re…

The appellants, Jeet Singh (who had two wives) and his first wife Mayawati, challenged the inclusion of two plots transferred to Mayawati in Jeet Singh's land holding under the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, arguing that Mayawati was a "judicially separated" wife and therefore the land should be…

The Supreme Court revisited its earlier order of 14 February 2006 directing that all marriages in India be compulsorily registered. After hearing amicus curiae and examining compliance reports, the Court found that several states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Mizoram…

The Supreme Court considered a petition for divorce by mutual consent filed by Preeti Singh and Sandeep Singh under Section 13(b) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The parties had reached a compromise in which the respondent paid Rs. 1.5 lakhs to the petitioner, deposited Rs. 1.25 lakhs and Rs. 30,000 in the name of his minor…

The husband and wife obtained a mutual‑consent divorce under Section 13‑B of the Hindu Marriage Act, agreeing that the mother would retain custody of their son and the father would have fortnightly visitation. Both parties later filed applications under Section 26 of the Act seeking to modify the custody arrangement: t…

The appellant, Ram Chandra Bhaghat, was convicted under Section 493 of the Indian Penal Code for deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage and cohabiting with the complainant for nine years, during which they had two children. The appellant argued that no belief of a lawful marriage was induced, contending that …

The case concerned the estate of the late R. Rosaiah, whose widow Lakshmamma (L) had been granted a life interest in his properties under a compromise decree. L later remarried in 1953 and attempted to adopt a boy as the heir of her first husband, which the trial court rejected. The principal questions were whether L's…

Anurag Mittal obtained a decree of divorce from Rachna Aggarwal in 2009 and appealed against it, obtaining a stay. The parties later settled, and Mittal filed an application to withdraw the appeal on 28 November 2011, which was deemed withdrawn on that date. He married Shaily Mishra Mittal on 6 December 2011, before th…

The husband filed a petition for divorce on the ground of cruelty under Section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Matrimonial Court dismissed the petition, but the Bombay High Court Division Bench granted a decree of divorce. The wife appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that the High Court erred in treating…

The wife filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act for divorce, and the trial court passed an ex‑parte decree in her favour on 6‑12‑1979. The husband appealed the decree under Section 96 of the CPC and sought condonation of delay under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, but the appeal was dismissed on t…

The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that his wife had made false and defamatory complaints against him, his family and colleagues, which amounted to cruelty. The wife had lodged multiple complaints with various authorities and the media, all of which were later …

Vinod Kumar Subbiah filed for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging mental cruelty by his wife, Saraswathi Palaniappan, who later sought restitution of conjugal rights under Section 9 and maintenance. The trial court, after examining extensive evidence, found the wife’s abusive conduct—ins…

The wife filed a transfer petition in the Supreme Court seeking to move a divorce suit under Section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, pending in Delhi, to a court in Nagpur. The parties subsequently reached a settlement wherein they agreed to file a joint petition under Section 13(8) for divorce by mutual consent in…

Anita Laxmi Narayan Singh married Laxmi Narain Singh in 1987. The husband filed a divorce petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act in Bombay. The wife, residing in Ghaziabad, had to travel long distances to defend herself and applied for interim maintenance and travel expenses. The Supreme Court directed the…

Jagdish Harijan, an Indian Railways employee, died leaving a son, Mukesh Kumar, born of his second wife. The Railway Board circular barred children of a second wife from receiving compassionate appointments, leading to the denial of Mukesh's application. The appellant challenged this denial, arguing it violated constit…

The husband, an engineer, filed a suit for divorce under Sections 13(1)(i‑a) and 13(1)(i‑b) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging mental cruelty and desertion by his wife, a draftsman. The wife counter‑claimed that she faced dowry harassment, alleged an extra‑marital affair by the husband, and had withdrawn a criminal co…

The Supreme Court dismissed three public‑interest writ petitions that sought to declare various provisions of Muslim, Hindu and Christian personal laws unconstitutional. The petitioners argued that polygamy, unilateral talaq, and discriminatory inheritance rules violated Articles 13, 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The …

The respondent, M. Chandralekha, filed a suit for partition and possession of her late father‑in‑law's properties, claiming a share as the wife of the deceased Kandasamy. She produced a registered maintenance release deed that contained a recital stating that their marriage was dissolved under the customary law of the …

Both parties were minors when they allegedly married. The wife filed two suits—one to restrain the husband from remarrying and another seeking a perpetual injunction against alienation of property, claiming a one‑third share for herself and her daughter. She also filed a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage A…

Kunti Devi (wife) filed a criminal complaint under Section 494 read with Section 109 of the Ranbir Penal Code alleging that her husband Som Raj contracted a second marriage while the first marriage was still subsisting. The High Court, relying on Krishna Gopal Divedi v. Prabha Divedi, quashed the complaint, holding tha…

The husband and wife obtained a decree of divorce by mutual consent in 2008. The wife later filed a criminal complaint under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 alleging the divorce decree was a sham and that they continued to live together. The husband moved the trial magistrate under Section 482 …

Durga Prasanna Tripathy married Arundhati Tripathy on 5 March 1991. The wife left the matrimonial home in October 1991 and the parties lived apart for about 14 years. The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging cruelty and desertion. The Family Court granted the decr…

The wife obtained a decree of dissolution of marriage on grounds of cruelty and appealed the decree, which was dismissed by the High Court on 16 July 1986. The husband subsequently contracted a second marriage on 17 August 1986, and the wife filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) under Article 136 of the Constitution wit…

The complainant Priya lodged an FIR alleging that the accused Prashant Bharti had assaulted, molested, and later raped her under sections 328, 354 and 376 IPC, claiming these acts were committed on the promise of marriage. Investigation revealed mobile‑phone records disproving the presence of both parties at the allege…

The petitioner, Rajesh, sought transfer of a criminal case (FIR No.352 dated 7‑12‑2005) under Sections 406, 498A read with Section 34 IPC, pending in the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Chittorgarh, to a court in Hissar. The matter was posted before the Supreme Court Lok Adalat on 6‑12‑2008, where both parties appeare…

The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging mental cruelty by his wife, who refused to consummate the marriage and displayed hostile behaviour. The trial court dismissed the petition, but the Madras High Court allowed it, finding the wife's conduct amounted to me…

The Supreme Court examined an appeal by Sanjeeta Das against a decree of divorce granted by the Orissa High Court on the basis of an affidavit in which the husband, Tapan Kumar Mohanty, offered to pay Rs 10 lakh as maintenance. The husband had earlier filed a petition under Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu…

The husband and wife were married on 26 March 2011 but lived apart from the outset, and the husband filed a petition under Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act seeking a declaration of nullity within three months. During mediation the parties agreed to dissolve the marriage by mutual consent and filed a joint petition …

The appellant, Ramanuj Kumar, filed a petition for divorce under Sections 13(1)(ia) and (iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging irretrievable breakdown of his marriage to Priyanka. The parties had been living separately for over eleven years, with the appellant caring for their elder daughter and the respondent carin…

The petitioners, married on 30‑Nov‑2008, filed a dissolution suit under Section 13‑8(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Delhi Family Court ordered them to wait six months before filing a second motion under Section 13‑8(2). The wife filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking a decree of div…

The husband (K. Srinivas Rao) appealed against a High Court order that set aside a decree of divorce in his favour. The Supreme Court examined whether the wife’s filing of false, indecent and defamatory complaints, and multiple criminal proceedings against him and his family, amounted to mental cruelty under s.13(1)(i‑…

The marriage between the respondent and appellant No.14 was solemnised in Rajasthan, after which the couple lived in Chennai. In 2014 the respondent travelled to Bengaluru for her sister's wedding and subsequently refused to return to the matrimonial home, alleging domestic violence by her husband, his parents, and sev…

The appellant, the divorced wife of the first accused, challenged summons issued against her in a case under Section 420 read with Section 34 IPC. The police investigation had filed a refer report stating that the complaint was not proved, and the complainant testified that only the husband had been entrusted with mone…

The appellant, a doctor who tested HIV‑positive, had his status disclosed by Hospital Z when he was about to marry Ms. Y, leading to social ostracism. He filed a consumer complaint seeking damages for breach of medical confidentiality and violation of his right to privacy under Article 21. The Supreme Court held that t…

The appellant, a Sub‑Inspector, married a woman (the second wife) by concealing that he was already married, collected money from her family and threatened them. The second wife filed a complaint alleging offences under Sections 494, 495, 417, 420 and 498A IPC. The High Court quashed the complaint under Section 498A, h…

Vinita Saxena married Pankaj Pandit in 1993, but the marriage lasted only five months and was never consummated because the husband suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, rendering him incapable of performing matrimonial duties. The wife alleged mental and physical cruelty, including abuse by the husband and his mother,…

The husband, Naveen Kohli, filed a petition for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 on the ground of cruelty, alleging that his wife, Neelu Kohli, was bad‑tempered, engaged in indecent conduct, transferred property to herself, and repeatedly harassed him through criminal and civil complaints. The trial court fou…

The Supreme Court upheld the decree of divorce granted to the husband on the ground of cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The husband alleged that his wife repeatedly demanded money, denied food, threatened him and the children, and physically abused the children, culminating in the death of three children. Th…

In a partition suit over ancestral coparcenary property, the children of a second wife (Jinia Keotin) born from a marriage that was void under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 claimed a share in the property. The trial court and the High Court allowed them a share only in the parents' property, invoking Section 16(3) of th…

The appellant, a wife, filed an application under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 seeking seizure of her stridhan held by her husband after they were judicially separated. The trial court, Sessions Court and High Court dismissed the application on the grounds that she was no longe…

Sanghamitra Ghosh filed a transfer petition seeking to move a matrimonial suit for restitution of conjugal rights to Bangalore, alleging physical and mental torture by her husband Kajal Kumar Ghosh and his parents, and claiming she was driven out of the marital home with their minor child. Both parties later entered in…

The daughter‑in‑law (R2) filed applications seeking recovery of arrears of maintenance and monthly maintenance from her father‑in‑law, Manmohan Gopal, after her husband Varun Gopal abandoned her and obtained a foreign divorce. The Supreme Court noted that the father‑in‑law and the husband had repeatedly defied earlier …

The wife (appellant) and husband (respondent) were married in Delhi and subsequently lived there, although both originally hailed from Bagyan, Uttar Pradesh. The husband filed a petition for nullity of marriage under section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act in the District Court of Almora, claiming the parties were residen…

The case involved a US‑born minor girl, M, whose mother (the appellant) fled the United States with her to India and filed for divorce. The father (respondent No.2) obtained a US custody order and sought a writ of habeas corpus in Delhi to have the child returned to the US. The Delhi High Court ordered her return, but …

The parties dissolved their marriage by mutual consent under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Family Court fixed a maintenance of Rs.20,000 per month for the wife, which the High Court affirmed and also ordered an alternative lump‑sum alimony of Rs.20 lakh. Unsatisfied, the wife appealed for a higher amount. The Supre…

Neeta Rakesh Jain filed for interim maintenance after her husband obtained an ex-parte divorce decree. She claimed the husband earned about Rs. 2,00,000 per month, while he asserted a salary of Rs. 30,000 from his own company. The Bombay High Court, accepting the husband's claim without scrutiny, fixed interim maintena…

The father of 19‑year‑old Thushara filed a habeas‑corpus petition alleging that his daughter was being held in illegal custody by her husband, Nandakumar, who was allegedly under the marriageable age of 21 at the time of their ceremony. The Kerala High Court held that the marriage was not legally valid because the groo…

In a marriage governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, the wife obtained a decree of judicial separation on the ground of the husband's adultery, and the husband was ordered to pay maintenance to his wife and daughter, which he failed to do. The husband later filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1‑A) claiming that …

The husband filed for divorce on the ground of adultery and sought a DNA test of their son, born during the marriage, to establish paternity. The Family Court and the High Court ordered the DNA test, but the Supreme Court set aside those orders, holding that the conclusive presumption of legitimacy under Section 112 of…

The Supreme Court heard an appeal by Sugirtha challenging a High Court order that required her to travel 150 km each way every Sunday to hand over her two‑year‑old daughter to the father, Gowtham, for visitation. The parties had been married in 2021, separated shortly after the child's birth, and the mother had filed f…

Amutha and A.R. Subramanian were married in 2002 but lived apart for more than fifteen years following a series of disputes, including the wife filing a false dowry harassment complaint against the husband. The husband filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion, which were initially rejected by the trial and…

The husband and wife were married in 1989; the wife later filed a criminal complaint against the husband and his family under several IPC provisions and the Dowry Prohibition Act, which led to their arrest. The husband filed for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and alleged irretrievable breakdown, and the wife was lat…

The wife and her minor daughter sought maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court initially granted interim maintenance but later awarded maintenance only to the daughter, denying the wife on the ground that she could earn a liveliho…

The father, Gaurav Nagpal, had retained custody of his minor child after allegedly kidnapping and confining the mother, Sumedha Nagpal, and repeatedly violating court orders. The mother filed an application under Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and Section 25 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1…

The husband, a Supreme Court advocate, filed a divorce petition on the ground of adultery, which the wife denied and countered by alleging his mental instability. He later amended the petition to include mental cruelty, relying on the wife's written statements that labeled him a lunatic and on aggressive cross‑examinat…

The petitioners, both commercial pilots, claimed to have "solemnised" their marriage on 7 July 2021 and obtained a marriage certificate from Vadik Jankalyan Samiti, which was later used to register the marriage under the Uttar Pradesh Marriage Registration Rules, 2017. In reality, no Hindu rites or saptapadi were perfo…

The husband Kalyan Dey Chowdhury and his wife Rita Dey Chowdhury (née Nandy) were married in 1995 and later divorced. The wife sought permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which was initially set at Rs.16,000 per month in 2015. The husband’s net salary rose from Rs.63,842 to Rs.95,000, prompting…

Krishnaveni Rai, the appellant, obtained a decree of divorce from her first husband in 2005 and filed an appeal against that decree almost a year after the limitation period, which was later condoned. While the appeal was pending, she married Pankaj Rai in December 2014. The respondent sought a declaration that this se…

The petitioner-wife Rinku Baheti filed a transfer petition seeking to move a pending divorce suit to the Pune Family Court and opposed the respondent-husband Sandesh Sharda's application under Article 142(1) for a decree of divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The parties had a brief marriage o…

The wife, Rashmi Kumar, married under Hindu rites, received jewellery, cash and household goods as stridhana from her family and entrusted them to her husband for safekeeping. After being driven out of the matrimonial home, she demanded the return of the stridhana on 5‑December‑1987, which the husband refused. She file…

Balwinder Kaur married Hardeep Singh under Sikh rites and later filed a divorce petition on grounds of cruelty and desertion. The husband did not appear, and the District Judge granted an ex‑parte decree of divorce. The wife appealed to the High Court under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that her husban…

The petitioners, Urmila Badshah Goose and her daughter Shivanjali, filed an application under Section 125 of the CrPC seeking maintenance, claiming that Urmila was the wife of the petitioner Badshah and that Shivanjali was their illegitimate child. Badshah contended that he was already lawfully married to another woman…

The appellant, Juveria Abdul Majid Patni, married Atif Iqbal Mansoori under Muslim rites in 2005 and alleged physical abuse and cruelty, leading her to file an FIR under Sections 498A and 406 IPC in 2007. She obtained an ex parte Khula (divorce) from a Mufti on 9 May 2008, which the respondent contested in family court…

The appellant-wife filed for divorce on the ground of mental cruelty and was granted a decree of divorce and permanent alimony of Rs.15,00,000 by the Family Court, which the High Court upheld. The appellant challenged the alimony amount, arguing she was unemployed, while the respondent, a doctor, demonstrated a higher …

The Supreme Court examined whether Shrimabai, who cohabited with late Subedar Pundalik Bhave and bore two children, was entitled to his family pension after his death. Bhave had married Shrimabai while still married to his first wife Anusuya, but later obtained a divorce from Anusuya in 1990 and had the service record …

The appellant, a 21‑year‑old wife residing in Chennai, sought the transfer of her husband’s petition for annulment of marriage filed in the Family Court at Vellore to the Family Court at Chennai under Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure. She also had two other matrimonial petitions – restitution of conjugal right…

The husband filed a divorce petition in the Family Court at Mangaluru, Karnataka. The wife, a permanent resident of Canada now residing in Mumbai, filed a transfer petition seeking to move the proceedings to the Family Court at Bandra, Mumbai. She argued that traveling to Mangaluru would be difficult, costly, and would…

Hitesh Bhatnagar and Deepa Bhatnagar, married under the Hindu Marriage Act, filed a joint petition for divorce by mutual consent in 2001. Before the required second motion, Deepa withdrew her consent after the 18‑month period, leading the trial court to dismiss the petition. The appellant appealed, arguing that the 18‑…

The suit concerned partition of ancestral property where the plaintiff claimed a half‑share. The defendants, in their written statement, admitted the plaintiff’s entitlement but later sought to amend the statement to allege that the plaintiff and certain co‑defendants were illegitimate children and therefore ineligible…

The husband filed transfer petitions seeking to move several matrimonial and criminal matters pending before the Family Court, Gwalior, to this Court. The parties, married in 2006, had been living separately since 2007 and were involved in multiple proceedings including a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage…

Munish Kakkar filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging cruelty, extra‑marital affairs, and a child out of wedlock, after a marriage that had effectively collapsed with the parties living apart for over sixteen years. The trial court granted a decree of divorce, which the …

The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1)(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging his wife suffered from schizophrenia, while the wife filed a petition for restitution of conjugal rights. The trial court granted the divorce and dismissed the restitution petition, but the Andhra Pradesh High Court se…

The appellant, a wife, filed an FIR under Sections 498A and 406 IPC alleging dowry harassment and cruelty after leaving her matrimonial home. The husband filed a divorce petition, and the respondents moved the High Court to quash the FIR under its inherent power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. The High Court quashed t…

The husband filed a divorce petition on grounds of cruelty and desertion, which was dismissed by the Family Court. The High Court later set aside that order and granted an ex parte divorce decree in favor of the husband without hearing the wife. The wife appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing prejudice due to the lack …

The predecessor‑in‑interest of Bharatha Matha filed a suit for a share in the property of her brother Muthu Reddiar, who died intestate and allegedly unmarried. Defendant No.1, Rengammal, claimed she was lawfully married to Alagarsami Reddiar (who was alive) and also asserted a live‑in relationship with Muthu Reddiar, …

The husband, a U.S. citizen, filed a petition under Sections 13 and 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act in the Gurgaon Family Court seeking divorce, while the wife filed a divorce petition in a Florida court on grounds not available under Indian law. The husband then sued in the Gurgaon court for a permanent anti‑suit injunct…

Chetan Dass married Kamla Devi in 1976 and, after about two years, filed for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which was dismissed when the couple's relations improved. The wife later lodged a criminal complaint alleging the husband’s illicit relationship with a nurse, prompting the husband to seek re…

The father (Aman Lohia) filed a guardianship petition under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Family Courts Act, 1984 seeking declaration as guardian of his two‑year‑old daughter. The mother (Kiran Lohia) did not file a written statement but filed several applications under CPC, including a Section 151 applicat…

Soni Kumari and Deepak Kumar, married in 2009, lived separately from 2014 due to irreconcilable differences and filed a joint petition for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13‑8(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court allowed the first motion but refused to waive the statutory six‑month cooling‑off period …

The wife filed a petition for dissolution of marriage under Section 13(1)(i‑a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging cruelty by the husband. In his written statement the husband accused the wife of unchastity and an extramarital relationship, but later withdrew those allegations. The trial court granted divorce and rejec…

The wife obtained a judicial separation decree directing the husband to return ornaments worth Rs. 3,25,655 within one month, with a conditional order that if he failed to do so he would pay the value plus 9% interest per annum. The husband returned the ornaments after a delay but within a reasonable time, yet the High…

Sarita Sharma and Sushil Sharma, married in 1988, were involved in divorce proceedings in a Texas court which intermittently granted custody of their two minor children to the father and limited the mother to visitation. While the divorce was pending, the mother exercised her visitation rights and removed the children …

The appellant, Smt. S. Vanitha, sought to remain in a house that she claimed was her matrimonial home and a "shared household" under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDV Act). Her parents‑in‑law, invoking the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (Senior Citizens Act…

The plaintiff, Sujathamma, a maternal granddaughter of the deceased's father, claimed to have married her maternal uncle Hanumanthappa on 7 March 1986 and sought a share of his estate as his wife. The alleged marriage was supported only by a registration document (Ex.P/1) with no evidence of any customary rites or sapt…

Ronobroto Roy filed a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that his wife Dipanwita Roy had an extra‑marital relationship and bore a child with another man. To prove the allegation of infidelity, he applied to the Family Court for a DNA test of the child, which was dismissed, but the…

The appellant-husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging cruelty, but the Family Court dismissed it and the High Court upheld that dismissal. The parties had been living separately since October 2009, amounting to over sixteen years of estrangement, and the appellant…

The wife filed a petition for judicial separation and custody under Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The husband contested the petition’s maintainability, arguing that both parties, being Swedish citizens domiciled in Australia, were outside the Act’s territorial scope. The Supreme Court examined the extent …

The husband filed a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act seeking divorce, and the parties later reached an amicable settlement before a Supreme Court mediator, wherein the husband paid alimony and the wife agreed to dissolve the marriage. The wife subsequently withdrew from the settlement, claiming she wo…

The husband, Ashok Kumar Jain, filed a petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 seeking divorce from his wife, Sumati Jain, on grounds of cruelty and desertion. The trial court dismissed the petition, finding that the husband himself had been cruel and had created circumstances that forced the wife to …

The case involved a matrimonial dispute between Depti Bhandari and Nitin Bhandari, centering on visitation rights to their minor daughter after the mother shifted residence from Jaipur to Delhi. The father had been granted visitation rights in Jaipur, but the mother sought to modify the order to allow visitation in Del…

The husband filed a divorce petition in 2012 on grounds of cruelty and adultery, and the Family Court granted a decree of divorce in 2016 on the ground of cruelty. The wife appealed, and the Madras High Court set aside the decree, holding that the alleged cruelty stemmed from the wife's father's rude utterances, which …

The husband filed a divorce petition and sought to introduce secretly recorded telephone conversations with his wife as evidence, submitting memory cards, a CD and transcripts. The Family Court allowed the evidence, but the High Court set aside that order on the ground that the recordings violated the wife's right to p…

Chand Patel was married to Bismillah Begum, the sister of his first wife, while the first marriage was still subsisting. Bismillah Begum and her minor daughter sought maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The lower courts held that the marriage, though irregular, continued to subsist and orde…

The Supreme Court, hearing a transfer petition concerning a matrimonial suit, observed that the lack of official marriage records in many States enables unscrupulous persons to deny the existence of marriages, adversely affecting women and children. It noted that while several States have rules for voluntary registrati…

The appellant, a member of the Oraon tribe, alleged that her husband, a Santhal, contracted a second marriage while their first marriage subsisted, and filed a criminal complaint for bigamy under Section 494 of the IPC. The trial magistrate dismissed the complaint for lack of evidence of any tribal custom that makes a …

The husband filed a petition for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Family Court initially proceeded ex parte when the wife could not be served. The wife later appeared, the ex parte order was set aside, and the case was adjourned for conciliation, but she remained absent at subsequent hearings. The Fa…

Suja Uday Patil (wife) appealed against the decree of divorce granted to her husband, Uday Madhukar Patil, on the grounds of cruelty and desertion under the Hindu Marriage Act. The trial court had initially ordered judicial separation, but the District Judge later dissolved the marriage and awarded alimony, a decision …

The wife, who had a prior marriage that was never dissolved by a court decree, married the appellant after his first wife's death. The husband filed a suit to declare the second marriage void under Section 5(i) and Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, while the wife sought judicial separation and maintenance for herse…

Ganapati Bhikarao Naik, the son‑in‑law of a land‑loser whose land was acquired for the Kaiga Atomic Power Project, was appointed as a helper under a rehabilitation scheme. After marital discord and a divorce proceeding, his father‑in‑law alleged that Naik was not a legitimate family member and the employer terminated h…

The appellant and respondent were married in 2002 but the marriage was never consummated and the parties lived apart for almost two decades. The appellant filed for divorce on the ground of cruelty; the trial court granted a decree on the basis of irretrievable breakdown, which was later set aside by the appellate cour…

The mother of V. Somyashree, a government employee in Karnataka, died on 25 March 2012. At the time of her death the daughter was married; she later obtained a decree of divorce by mutual consent on 20 March 2013 and applied for a compassionate appointment on 21 March 2013 under the Karnataka Civil Services (Appointmen…

The appellant, Sunita Jha, was charged under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code for cruelty to the complainant, Asha Rani Pal, on the ground that she was living with Pal's husband as his wife. The trial court rejected her discharge application, and the Jharkhand High Court affirmed that her cohabitation made her a f…

The Supreme Court heard the appeal of M. Govindaraju, who sought a one‑seventh share in his father's joint Hindu family property. Govindaraju was born to Pappammal, who had earlier been married to Koala Gounder but left his house in 1942‑43 and thereafter lived with Munisami Gounder, the father of the appellant. The Hi…

The husband and wife, married in 2000, lived separately from 2022 and entered into a mediated Settlement Agreement in May 2024 that provided for a mutual‑consent divorce, payment of Rs 75 lakh, a car purchase, jewellery hand‑over and other financial transfers. The first motion for divorce was granted after the husband …

The appellants, Darshan Prashad and his wife Smt. Saraswati Devi, challenged a notice issued under Section 10(2) of the U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 (as amended by Act No.20 of 1976) that sought particulars of land held by them and their family. They argued that the wife, who was living separat…

Guda Vijayalakshmi (petitioner) filed a maintenance suit in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, while her husband filed a divorce suit under the Hindu Marriage Act in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The petitioner sought transfer of the divorce suit to Eluru under Section 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) so that both matters could be he…

Jagraj Singh married Birpal Kaur in 1993; the wife later filed for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act alleging desertion and cruelty. The trial court ruled it lacked territorial jurisdiction but nonetheless decided the merits, denying divorce. The High Court, invoking Section 23(2) of the Act, ordered b…

The appellant, a sanitary inspector, and the respondent, a teacher, were married for 25 years and have an adult child. The appellant previously faced a desertion suit, and the present appeal arose from a cruelty petition where the respondent alleged the appellant's immoral conduct, which was not proved. The Supreme Cou…

The husband filed a writ petition challenging the interim maintenance granted to his wife under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, alleging that she was already married to another man, as evidenced by a marriage certificate under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The trial court rejec…

Shobha Rani, a postgraduate, filed for divorce from her husband Madhukar Reddi on the ground of cruelty, alleging repeated dowry demands by the husband and his parents. The trial court and the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed her petition, holding that the demands did not amount to harassment and that she was hypers…

The parties were married in 1996 and later lived separately, with the husband filing for divorce on grounds of cruelty in 2009. The Family Court granted the divorce in 2019, which the High Court affirmed in 2023. The wife appealed, seeking a payment of Rs.10,00,000 towards their daughter's marriage expenses, alleging t…

Amardeep Singh filed a civil appeal challenging the Family Court's order granting a waiver of the six‑month cooling‑off period under Section 13B(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, for a mutual‑consent divorce. The parties had been living separately for over eight years, had settled all pending disputes including a mas…

The husband filed a suit for dissolution of marriage under Section 13(1)(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that his wife suffered from schizophrenia so severe that cohabitation was unsafe. The trial court granted a decree of divorce, but the Allahabad High Court reversed it, holding that the evidence did not est…

The petitioner, Neeti Malviya, sought to transfer a divorce petition from the Family Court in Bangalore to the Family Court in Hoshangabad. The parties had reached a settlement in Supreme Court Lok Adalat, agreeing that the husband would pay Rs. 65 lakh and that a joint application for divorce by mutual consent would b…

The appellant tenants, nephews of the deceased landowner Suryanarayana, occupied several acres of land in Vishakhapatnam district. After the death of Suryanarayana's first wife Chilakamma, the second wife Pydamma claimed ownership and filed an eviction suit under the Andhra Pradesh Tenancy Act alleging default and sub‑…

The husband, Ajay Kumar, filed a habeas corpus petition before the Allahabad High Court alleging that his wife, Rashmi, was illegally detaining their minor son. In reality, the child had been living with the mother in Maharashtra since birth. The husband had earlier filed a criminal application in the Bombay High Court…

Pratibha Rani, an estranged wife, filed a criminal complaint under s.406 IPC alleging that her husband Suraj Kumar, his father, brothers and brother‑in‑law had misappropriated her stridhan (dowry) worth Rs.60,000 that was entrusted to them at the time of marriage. The Punjab & Haryana High Court quashed the complaint u…

The case arose from a decree of nullity under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, wherein the Punjab & Haryana High Court had held the marriage void. The appellant contested whether, despite the void status, the spouse could claim permanent alimony under Section 25 and interim maintenance under Section 24 of th…

The case concerned a son born from his father's second marriage, which was void under Hindu law, who applied for a compassionate appointment after his father's death while in service of Indian Railways. The Railway Board’s circular of 1992, later reiterated in 2013, barred children of such second marriages from receivi…

The marriage between U. Sree and U. Srinivas broke down, leading the wife to file a petition for restitution of conjugal rights and the husband to file for divorce on the ground of mental cruelty under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court and the Madras High Court granted the divorce, held the …

The Supreme Court examined whether Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which exempts a husband from rape liability when his wife is aged 15‑18, violates the Constitution and conflicts with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The Court held that the exemption creates an arbitrar…

Chand Dhawan (wife) appealed against the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s order dismissing her claim for permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act and also setting aside the maintenance pendente lite granted under Section 24. The wife had filed a petition for permanent alimony and maintenance after a di…

The appellant, an Indian Air Force pilot, married the respondent at an Arya Samaj temple after being told she was a Hindu spinster. He later discovered she had previously converted to Islam, married a Muslim, had two children, and divorced, but claimed she had reconverted to Hinduism through Shudhikaran ceremonies befo…

The wife filed a joint petition for divorce by mutual consent under Section 138 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. After the mandatory six‑month waiting period expired on 19‑Nov‑2007, the husband was absent on three successive dates (19‑Nov, 1‑Dec and 4‑Dec). The Family Court, without being satisfied that the husband was…

The Supreme Court examined an appeal concerning the allotment of a LPG dealership in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh. The eligibility notice required the applicant to be a "resident" of Kangra, but the respondent argued that her marital connection to a husband owning property there satisfied the criterion. The trial …

The appellants, a husband and his in‑laws, sought to quash a FIR and charge‑sheet filed after the husband filed a divorce suit, alleging that the FIR was a retaliatory, vexatious measure. The FIR originally alleged rape under Section 376 IPC, but the charge‑sheet omitted that offence and no protest petition was filed a…

The case concerned an eviction suit filed by a landlord under the Karnataka Rent Control Act against a tenant, H.S. Anand, who had deserted his wife, B.P. Achala Anand, leaving her in the tenanted matrimonial home. The wife sought to be impleaded and to contest the eviction, arguing that she retained a right to residen…

Parvin Kumar Jain and Anju Jain were married in 1998 and have lived apart since 2004. The husband, a senior banker, was ordered to pay interim maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which was later enhanced, while the wife sought further increase and permanent alimony. The Supreme Court examined whethe…

The appellant, an 89‑year‑old retired Air Force officer, filed for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and desertion under Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The District Court granted the decree, but the High Court reversed it, holding that the appellant failed to prove either ground. The …

The Supreme Court heard appeals by Harpreet Sawhney against Puneet Sharma challenging the Delhi High Court's maintenance order. The husband argued that deductions for Provident Fund and Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPPs) were compulsory, reducing his net income, while the wife contended they were voluntary and shoul…

Dr. Vikas Kanaujia filed a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act alleging cruelty, after his wife Dr. Sarita left the marital home within a month of their 2002 marriage and the couple lived together for only about 43 days over a 22‑year separation. The Family Court granted a decree of divorce …

Satish Sitole and Smt. Ganga were married on 22 May 1992. The wife left the matrimonial home in August 1994 and the parties lived apart for 14 years, during which they filed multiple suits including a dowry complaint under IPC 498‑A and a petition for divorce under Sections 13(1)(ia) and (ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act.…

The petitioners, Hindu wives, challenged the validity of their husbands' second marriages after the husbands converted to Islam without dissolving the first Hindu marriage. The Court examined whether conversion to Islam permits a Hindu husband to contract a second marriage, whether such a marriage is valid under the Hi…

The wife, a Christian from the Khasi tribe and an Indian Foreign Service officer, married a Sikh husband under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872. She filed a petition under the Indian Divorce Act, 1869 seeking a declaration of nullity or judicial separation on the ground of her husband's impotence. The Delhi High…

The parties were married in 2002 and have two children. They lived separately from 2018, with the husband filing for divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion under Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court found that the wife’s conduct amounted to cruelty and that the husband had b…

The husband Raj Kumar Rana married Rita Rathore in 1997, but they separated in February 1998 after the wife gave birth to a son and never returned to the marital home. The husband filed a divorce petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act on grounds of cruelty and desertion, which was dismissed by both the tri…

The husband and wife, married in 1970, lived separately from 1983 and filed a joint petition for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act in 1984. The husband later moved a sole application for decree, while the wife withdrew her consent after the statutory 18‑month period, and the husband …

The wife (Manisha Tyagi) appealed a High Court Division Bench order that granted her husband (Deepak Kumar) a decree of divorce on the ground of cruelty under Section 13(1)(i‑a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The trial court and the High Court Single Judge had found both parties at fault and awarded judicial separati…

G.V.N. Kameswara Rao, a double‑doctorate holder working abroad, married G. Jabilli in 1979. Their marriage quickly became strained, with the wife returning to India and the couple living apart for years. Rao filed a petition under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, alleging mental cruelty by his wife. T…

The Supreme Court examined whether video conferencing could be used in matrimonial disputes under the Family Courts Act, 1984, particularly in transfer petitions. It held that Section 11 of the Act obliges the court to hold proceedings in camera if either party desires, and that allowing video conferencing on the conse…

The petitioner sought transfer of a divorce and child‑custody petition from the Family Court in Alappuzha, Kerala to the Family Court in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The respondent argued that, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Krishna Veni Nagam, the matters could be dealt with via video‑conferencing instead of transf…

The appellant, Pyla Mutyalamma, filed a Section 125 Cr.P.C. application for maintenance against her husband, alleging a valid marriage in 1974 and desertion after 25 years. The trial magistrate found her to be the lawful wife with two surviving children and awarded Rs.500 per month. The husband appealed, claiming a pri…

The appellant, Laxmi Devi, alleged that her husband, Satya Narayan, had contracted a second marriage, constituting an offence under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code. The trial court held that the prosecution failed to prove the essential Hindu marriage rite of Saptapadi, which is required to establish a valid marri…

The first appellant, married under Hindu law, obtained a divorce decree from a Missouri court on the ground of "irretrievable breakdown" after claiming a 90‑day residence in Missouri, while the parties had actually last lived together in Louisiana. The respondent contested the decree, arguing lack of jurisdiction and t…

The husband, Swapnil, filed an application for restitution of conjugal rights, but his wife left the matrimonial home in April 2011 and later lodged two police complaints alleging dowry demands and threats to kill. A First Class Judicial Magistrate framed charges under IPC sections 498A and 506 Part II and under Sectio…

The appellant and respondent were married in 1991. The respondent obtained an ex‑parte decree of divorce in January 1994, which was later set aside in February 1996, thereby restoring the marriage. The appellant filed a criminal complaint under IPC s.376, which was dismissed without trial, and subsequently filed anothe…

The complainant, married to Dr. Rishi Raj, filed an FIR in March 2022 alleging torture, dowry demands and an attempt to strangle her, implicating her husband, his parents (the appellants) and his sister‑in‑law. The parents‑in‑law and sister‑in‑law sought quashing of the criminal proceedings under Section 482 CrPC; the …

The wife, residing in Hyderabad with her minor daughter, sought transfer of a divorce proceeding filed by her husband under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act in the Family Court of Jabalpur, citing hardship in traveling to the forum. The petition raised whether a transfer under Section 25 of the CPC was appropriate …

The husband filed a divorce petition on the grounds of cruelty and desertion; the trial court granted the decree, but the High Court, exercising its power under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act, set aside the decree. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the High Court, as the first appellate court, may re‑appreci…

The husband, Dinesh Kumar Mahto, obtained a decree for restitution of conjugal rights against his wife, Reena, in 2022, yet she continued to live apart, alleging mental cruelty, dowry demands, and a miscarriage. Reena filed a maintenance suit under Section 125 of the CrPC in 2019 and was awarded ₹10,000 per month. The …

The appellant, a principal of an ITI college, filed a petition for divorce under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 alleging cruelty by his wife, primarily citing an incident on the Lohri festival where she verbally abused his elderly parents. The trial court and the High Court dismissed the petition, finding t…

Basappa filed a divorce petition under Section 13(1)(i‑b) of the Hindu Marriage Act and obtained an ex‑parte decree on 15‑12‑1989. Basappa died on 26‑05‑1990; the wife, Shantavva, claimed she only learned of the decree on 31‑03‑1990 and was not properly served, filing an application under Order IX Rule 13 CPC to set as…

The case concerned an application by the father, Abhijit Kundu, for custody of his six‑year‑old son Antariksh, while the child was in the care of his maternal grandparents who had lodged an FIR against the father under Sections 498A and 304 IPC for the alleged murder of the mother. The trial court and the Calcutta High…

The wife filed a suit under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, seeking restitution of conjugal rights, and a consent decree was passed. After a year, the husband filed a petition under Section 13 for divorce, claiming that no cohabitation had occurred following the decree. The trial court held that the husband …

The husband filed a petition for divorce under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging multiple instances of cruelty by his wife. The alleged incidents were largely isolated, occurred many years before the petition, and were condoned by the parties as they continued to live together and had two children. …

Parimal filed a divorce suit against his wife Veena. The wife repeatedly refused to accept the court's notice, after which the trial court proceeded ex‑parte and granted a decree of divorce. Four years later she applied under Order IX Rule 13 CPC to set aside the decree, alleging improper service, fraud and lack of suf…

The appeal concerned whether the appellant, a daughter of Ram Singh and Gurnam Kaur, was a legitimate child despite Gurnam Kaur's earlier marriage not being legally dissolved. Earlier courts had held the child illegitimate because the prior marriage was void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The appellant arg…

Reema Aggarwal married Anupam while his first wife was alive and was subsequently harassed for dowry by Anupam, his parents and brother, who forced her to ingest poison. She reported the incident and the accused were charged under IPC Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 498A (dowry harassment). The trial court acquitt…