By S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors · Published 29 September 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice. See our disclaimer
Overview
A guide to the statutory grounds available for a contested (non-mutual-consent) divorce in India under the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act, and how the two frameworks compare.
What You Need to Know
- Under Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a contested divorce can be sought on grounds including cruelty, desertion for two years, adultery, conversion to another religion, unsoundness of mind, virulent and incurable leprosy (as historically framed and subsequently amended), venereal disease, renunciation of the world, and presumption of death after seven years of being unheard of
- The Special Marriage Act, 1954, which governs civil and interfaith marriages solemnised under it, provides a broadly parallel set of fault-based grounds under Section 27, along with its own procedural framework, since parties married under the SMA are not necessarily governed by personal religious law
- Additional grounds available specifically to a wife under Section 13(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act include the husband's second marriage prior to the 1955 Act's commencement (bigamy), and certain grounds relating to rape, sodomy or bestiality by the husband
- A contested divorce requires the petitioning spouse to plead and prove the specific ground relied upon, unlike a mutual consent divorce under Section 13B, and typically involves a longer trial process including evidence and cross-examination
- Courts have, over time, also recognised 'irretrievable breakdown of marriage' as a factor the Supreme Court can consider in exercising its extraordinary Article 142 power, even though it is not itself a standalone statutory ground available to a family court or High Court under the ordinary provisions
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'irretrievable breakdown of marriage' a statutory ground for divorce?
No. It is not listed as an independent ground under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act for ordinary courts, though the Supreme Court has used its special constitutional power under Article 142 to grant divorce on this basis in some cases.
Do the same grounds apply to marriages under the Special Marriage Act?
The Special Marriage Act provides a broadly similar, though separately worded, set of fault-based grounds under Section 27, tailored for marriages solemnised under that Act.
Is a contested divorce always slower than a mutual consent divorce?
Generally yes: because the petitioner must plead and prove a specific ground through evidence, contested proceedings usually take considerably longer than an uncontested mutual consent petition.
References & Further Reading
This guide references the following statutes, rules and sources, cross-checked at the time of writing.
- Section 13, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Section 27, Special Marriage Act, 1954: statutory grounds for divorce: confirmed via the Acts' text and multiple practitioner explainers at research time
- Supreme Court's use of Article 142 to dissolve irretrievably broken marriages: consistently reported across legal news sources at research time
- See also our Family Law Notable Judgments and Legal Updates: Family Law archive.