Everything You Need To Know About Divorce Laws In India And What To Do

Divorce laws in India and the divorce procedure in India are based on separate religion based laws, so here’s a handy primer.

Divorce is the process of separating from a spouse legally. It can be a traumatic experience or a liberating experience, depending on the couple and their relationship.

India is a country where marriage is considered sacred and a divorce is considered a stigma, especially on the part of a woman. There is actually what most Indians consider the ‘worthy divorcee’, who needs to be a survivor of physical abuse for them to feel any sympathy. Mental, emotional abuse is far more common, but since there are no obvious injuries and women are usually silenced from speaking out about it to be deemed ‘good women’, it is usually not considered ‘enough’.

Fortunately, this is not stopping women from prioritising themselves over others.

Divorce laws in India

So what are the divorce laws in India that come under the various personal laws of each religion? 

• Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is applicable to the divorce of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs.
• Christians under the Christian Marriage and Divorce Act, 1957.
• Muslims by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939. Since a Muslim marriage is in the form of a contract, here are also some details you can check.
• Parsis by the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936.
• Inter-religious and inter-community divorces come under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

This premium content is for registered users only. If you want to get detailed information about the various divorce laws in India, what to do for divorce by mutual consent as well as for a contested divorce, and information on child custody and maintenance/ alimony, do log in to continue, or register if you do not have a Women’s Web account yet.