keshav soni (professional) 21 February 2022

Divorce application

Hi,

My home is in Bharatpur, Rajasthan and my wife still lives there with my parents. I got married to her in Bharatpur but after few years the relation became worst and she crossed all her limits so I came to delhi and started living separately. Then after 1 year, she and her family started to behave badly. Her family has started threatening that they will file a false domestic violence case or dowry case against my family while the truth is that she and her family were violent to us and behaved badly. My family never asked for dowry. I and my family never became violent that’s why she is still living in my house with my family without any problem. But now I have decided to divorce her because they are being aggressive, spreading false news, using all kind of bad ways to harass my family and threatening to misuse women laws.

I would like o hire a lawyer in delhi.

1. Can lawyers in delhi prepare a draft of divorce application that I can present in Bharatpur court in front of magistrate? Will it be considered as a valid divorce application and accepted by magistrate?

2. If I file a divorce case, could they still file a false police complaint of domestic violence and false dowry case? if yes, will police take adverse action against my family even after knowing that a divorce case is already pending in the court and her family is doing it intentionally just to harass me and my family ?

3. As far as I know some rules changed few years ago because many women were misusing laws. Now police does an investigation in dowry / domestic violence case and arrests only if it is true. Please correct me if I am wrong. Can you please explain me what is the current police investigation process and what kind of problems my family will have to face if they file a false dowry/domestic violence case. What is the worst that can happen ?

4. How long does it normally take in contested divorce? You can provide an estimated average time taken in most of the cases.

I have finally made my mind to divorce her and not going to change my mind no matter what happens. Just want to know what actually happens in practical world so that I could fight my case strongly, face all the hurdles and defend my innocent parents. Being a lawyer, you see these cases everyday and know what generally happens in most of this kind of cases [in 70-80% case] so I hope you can answer all of my questions based on your experience.

Serious replies only. No jokes, no bhashan please.

Thanks.

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3 Replies

Mayur Shrestha 21 February 2022

Dear querist,

1. Yes you can hire a good advocate from Delhi or for that matter any big city lawyer which help you in the drafting of the petition, and the same can be presented in whichever court you want your matter to be listed, but it is highly advisable that you hire a local advocate to represent your case because usually, it does not matter that you hire a lawyer from a big city and pay lacs of rupees for him or her to come down to your place to fight your case but in most of the cases the face value which a local lawyer or the one who is practicing in the court for a long period of time and knows the tendencies of the judges then that can play a big role in deciding in which way your case is going to be.

2. Unfortunately in these kinds of cases the police and the courts take adverse and aggressive measures towards the husband because as it was observed in the case of Kahkashan Kausar v. the State of Bihar, 2022 SC 141 – that the prosecution of the husband, as well as their relatives, were based on egregious and arbitrary grounds, and false allegations were made by the wife in order to settle scores or to leech extra damages from the husband in lieu of the protection granted to women’s under this section and court presuming the husband (defendant) to be guilty before the court of law even before the start of proceedings. Therefore, it is advisable that you be prepared for the worse to come.

3. as per my knowledge it may take up to 2 - 3 and may extend up to 5 years because there are lots of complexities involved when it comes to a contested divorce. Because the court will always try to rehabilitate the couples and may suggest other measures such as conciliation and mediation instead of standard litigation. Also including cross-examinations of charges put forth by the wife whether false or true, will rely upon how the court approaches the matter.

4. Thus it is advisable for you to stay in touch with your advocate and receive timely updates and ask for future protective remedies in case of arrest also this will be helpful for you to get anticipatory bail.

Hope it helps.

G Krishna Rao (Advocate) 21 February 2022

It is better to engage a lawyer in Delhi as per your convience to resolve the matter. If you go for divorce firstly, you have to pay the permanent alimoney, therefore you go to a lawyer and explain the entire situation and to seek a suitable remedy..