What if Husband Denies Divorce?

What if Husband Denies Divorce?

05-Jul-2021 | Article by Legal White Official

Divorce is the process by which the marriage is dissolved and the couple can be legally separated and can go on with their lives as they please. Divorce is granted fairly quickly by the court in case both the partner agrees to get divorced; this is commonly referred to as mutual divorce, and however things get a little tricky and complex in case either of the partners doesn’t want to give divorce. In most cases in India, it is the husband who tends to deny divorce while the wife wants it.

Under the Hindu Marriage Act in India, there are several grounds on which the wife can file for divorce such as adultery, cruelty, desertion, renunciation etc. If the husband denies the divorce it is considered as contested divorce under the Indian divorce law. The first step of a contested divorce is to mention the reason due to which the divorce is being sought. There can be any reason which is already validated by the Divorce Act.

  • According to the divorce law, the husband can refuse to divorce even after filing for mutual divorce, it is his right.
  • In case the husband has turned away after filing a mutual divorce petition, the court will dismiss it and a new petition under the contested divorce has to be filed.
  • The most important part of the contested divorce petition is the reason or the ground on which the wife wants divorce.
  • It is a common practice in India to get the issue resolved mutually by appointing someone from both, the wife’s family as well as the husband’s family.
  • In case the issue doesn’t get resolved then the wife has to file for a contested divorce.

Once the petition has been filed and a legal notice has been served to the husband, the wife should wait for period specified in the notice. It must be ensured that no legal proceedings be initiated before the end of the specified time. It is important to the take the help of divorce lawyers or experts at this point as they can guide and assist you in getting the divorce as well as getting all the required documents handy and in order.


In case the husband responds to the notice in the timely manner, the resolution will be provided within the court by hearing both the parties, also the wife has to provide all the required evidences to prove her point in the court, however if an out of court settlement has to be reached, the divorce petition has to be withdrawn from the court.



In case the husband ignores to respond to the notice or tries to avoid it, the wife can go ahead and ask the court for a judgment which is generally called a “default judgment”. The default judgment can be attained by putting a request to the court and by appearing in front for the court with all the relevant and required documents based on which the judge may grant the divorce.

To conclude, it becomes a bit complex in case of a contested divorce and the trail can go on for a very long time.

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