Matrimonial & Family

Matrimonial disputes are unlike other litigation. The facts are personal, the record is intimate, and the consequences extend beyond money and property to children and to the ordinary shape of daily life. Handled without care, the process itself makes a difficult situation materially worse.

The firm approaches these matters with the precision it applies to any other litigation and with the discretion the subject requires. Where a negotiated resolution is genuinely in the client’s interest, we say so — mediation in matrimonial matters frequently produces a better outcome, sooner, at lower cost, and with far more control retained by both parties than a contested trial allows. Mr. Singh is a mediator trained under the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India and empanelled with the Supreme Court Mediation Centre.

Matters We Handle

Divorce by Mutual Consent

Petitions under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the corresponding provisions of the other personal law statutes and of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The work that matters is the settlement — maintenance and its finality, division of assets, custody and access, return of articles, and the mutual withdrawal of proceedings — and it should be documented completely before the first motion, not negotiated between the motions.

Contested Divorce

Petitions and defences on the statutory grounds, including cruelty, desertion and adultery. We advise honestly at the outset on whether the ground alleged is capable of being established on the available material, on the realistic timeline, and on what a contested trial will require of the client in terms of evidence and of exposure.

Maintenance

Interim maintenance and litigation expenses under Section 24 and permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; maintenance under Section 144 BNSS (formerly Section 125 CrPC); and monetary relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Quantum turns on the standard of living during the marriage, the income and assets of both parties, earning capacity, and the needs of the children — and on the quality of the financial disclosure, which is where most of these applications are actually decided.

Custody and Access

Custody proceedings under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956. Indian courts treat the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration, and the parent’s rights as subordinate to it. We advise on the range of arrangements the courts in Delhi actually make — custody with defined access, shared arrangements, and access supervised or unsupervised — and on how to conduct the proceedings without damaging the child’s relationship with either parent.

Domestic Violence Proceedings

Applications under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 for protection orders, residence orders, custody orders and monetary relief; and representation of respondents in such proceedings.

NRI and Cross-Border Matrimonial Matters

Matters involving parties resident abroad raise questions of jurisdiction, of the recognition and enforcement in India of a foreign decree, of the removal of a child across borders, and of the application of Indian personal law to parties domiciled elsewhere. We handle these in co-ordination with lawyers qualified in the relevant jurisdiction.

Confidentiality

Matrimonial files are handled on a restricted basis within the firm and are discussed only with those working on the matter. We also advise clients on their own position — on what may and may not be shared, and on the risks of publishing or circulating material relating to proceedings, which in matrimonial matters is a recurring and avoidable source of harm.

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What is the waiting period for divorce by mutual consent?

Under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 the parties must have been living separately for at least one year before the petition is presented, and there is a period of six months between the first and the second motion, which must be moved within eighteen months. The Supreme Court has held in Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur that the six-month period is directory and may be waived in an appropriate case where the settlement is genuine and the marriage is beyond repair.

Employment does not by itself disentitle a spouse to maintenance. The court considers the standard of living during the marriage, the income, assets and liabilities of both parties, earning capacity as against actual earning, and the needs of any children. The question is whether the applicant can maintain herself at a level reasonably comparable to the matrimonial standard, not whether she has any income at all.

The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration, and it is assessed in the round: the child’s physical and emotional needs, the stability each parent can provide, the existing relationship with each parent, schooling and continuity, and — where the child is of sufficient age and understanding — the child’s own wishes, which the court may ascertain by interacting with the child.

Not automatically. A foreign decree is open to challenge in India on the grounds recognised in Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, including that it was not pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction, was not given on the merits, or was obtained in breach of natural justice. Where the marriage was solemnised under Indian personal law, a decree on a ground not available under that law is particularly vulnerable. Advice should be taken before either party acts on such a decree.

This page is provided for general information about the firm’s areas of practice. It is not legal advice, and no advocate–client relationship arises from reading it or from an enquiry. The law stated is current as at the date of publication and may change.