Five Grounds for Divorce

Our country is inhabited by people practicing different religions, due to this reason; there are different divorce laws for all the major faiths. Based on the religion practiced by the parties, some of the ground is specific; most of the grounds to divorce under the Indian Divorce Act 1869 are same for every belief. We would like to discuss the most crucial five grounds for divorce under the divorce act in the country. These are listed below.

• Cruelty – Under the law, cruelty can be physical as well as mental. When one spouse harms the other physically by the act of beating or pushing, it is considered as physical cruelty. This type of cruelty can be easily understood, however mental cruelty is something which requires more elaboration. In other words, lack of kindness or a demeaning attitude towards a spouse, humiliating the spouse in front to family and friends, making false allegations are some of the examples which come under the purview of mental cruelty.
• Adultery – Adultery can be defined as a consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and another person of opposite sex who may be married or unmarried. As per the Hindu Marriage act, it is a valid ground for divorce. There are certain essential points which are required to invoke adultery such as, the marriage was intact at the time of the act, there should be sufficient evidences to prove that adultery has been committed.
• Insanity – This is a situation when one of the spouses has become mentally unstable or ill, in other words, he or she has an unsound mind. It is important to understand that the condition of the person should be incurable as per the medical science as well as it is impossible for the other spouse to live with him or her. There has been a case in which the husband was suffering from Schizophrenia (Paranoid) which the wife came to know after the marriage and she was granted divorce.
• Desertion – If in case either of the spouse leave the other without the any valid reason or any agreement in order to end the marriage, it is considered desertion. In case one wants to file a divorce the grounds of desertion, the couple must have stayed separated for over years. This is a valid reason for divorce however it doesn’t come up very often.
• Presumed Dead – This is one reason for divorce where in a person has not been heard from for a period of seven or more years. In some cases, a person can be presumed dead even before the lapse of seven years. It is a petitioner who needs to prove that the respondent is dead. Along with other proofs, he or she has to provide details such as “Last time the respondent was seen or heard from”, the steps taken to find him or her such as the missing police report etc.  

In Conclusion there are other valid reasons for divorce as well under the divorce act such as renunciation, leprosy etc as well which can be invoked to file for divorce.