divorce denied

do not be frustrated pl, you are not alone.

is the judge rejected the petition u/s 13b, if so what the cause he shown in his judgement?

your marriage valid according to hma.

you may appeal to the hc.

the judge said the  1yr period has not been completed and wont hear no more from the lawyer :(

is there anything else we can do except going for HC ?

Do divorces decreed by panchayats valid and legal ?

thanks a lot for your answers , Sir.

you are not properly guided.  Mutual consent divorce requires three conditions: 1.  The petition can be filed if both wife and husband lived separately for the last one year at the time of filing the petition.  2.  The petition can be filed only one year after the date of marriage. 3.  After filing the petition, the decree can be granted only six months after.

Now, your marriage was held on 12.12.2008.

You lived together for 15 days, i.e., 27.12.2008.

You can file petition only on 28.12.2009, instead you filed on 21.12.2009.  Had you mentioned in your petition that you lived together only 7 or 8 days, you were entitled to file on 21.12.2008.

Any how, I think the judge has given the date of 21.7.2010 for granting divorce decree as six months passed from the date of filing of the petition.  You verify with your advocate and inform what happened on 21.7.2010.

Panchayat divorce is not valid.

In a special circumstances divorce petition can be filed. See Hindu Marriage act.

One year's "cooling off" period is required because otherwise the institute of marriage cannot survive and every other marriage will get broken. This does not serve the purpose of marriage. After admitting the petition on mutual consent, six month's time will pass in the court and then divorce may be decreed.

Dear Sirs,

I have been doing some research online and below are some of my findings:

• the various and much-amended provisions of section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provide prima facie for judicial decrees of divorce among Hindus/Sikhs in India. One would, therefore, normally expect a Hindu divorce in India to go through formal court proceedings under any of the grounds provided in section 13. However, the same Act provides that Hindu marriages may also be dissolved extra-judicially in customary ways. Indian law, thus, recognises such forms of divorce as legally valid and they are frequently used, also today.
• It is well-known that Panjabis, and Sikhs in particular, have a variety of customary forms of divorce and that divorces among them are quite frequent. A leading Indian authority on this subject, Professor Paras Diwan, in a book on Customary law (Chandigarh: Panjab University 1984), at p. 83, has confirmed that '... in all the districts surrounding Jullundur there has been a well-recognized custom under which the husband can dissolve the marriage by turning out or abandoning his wife. In such a case the wife is free to remarry'.
• Professor Paras Diwan, in the tenth edition of his standard textbook and practitioners' handbook on Modern Hindu law (Allahabad: Allahabad Law Agency 1995), comments in some detail on the relationship of customary and statutory divorces at pp. 162-163. In essence, he confirms that panchayat divorces are an integral part of the Indian matrimonial set-up:

  'The customary divorces may still be obtained through the agency of gram panchayat or caste tribunal or caste panchayats, by private act of parties, orally or in writing, or under an agreement, oral or written ........ The Gram-panchayats and caste-panchayats continue to exercise jurisdiction over customary divorces. How the jurisdiction is exercised and when the courts of law may interfere in their adjudication is well illustrated by Pemabai v. Channoolal. (AIR 1963 MP 57).

• section 29(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 specifically allows for the continuation of customary Hindu divorces signifies for me, in this respect, that Indian law purposefully recognises panchayat divorces as a valid form of divorce proceedings.

Are these aforementioned points  valid to any extent ?

Thanks a lot.

ER

@rage, you said

"However, the same Act provides that Hindu marriages may also be dissolved extra-judicially in customary ways."

Can you kindly enlightent us which provision is allowing the customary divorce.

Pardon my ignorance in this subject  but as I said , "I have been doing some research online"

I found this paragraph written here
www.rightsnet.co.uk/pdfs/cmmr_upload/cp/cp1149695.doc
PART I  :: 11

Again by no means any kind of  knowledgeable person on this subject  and just want some expert advice from the higher echelons of the legal strata in India. 

Just that I am just a IT professional by vocation and that enables me to dig out some nondescriptt , hidden articles out of the world wide web.

thanks.

In villages where courts are not formed or are out of the reach of the villagers, Panchayat may take decisions on family matters. Particularly in under privileged castes like Scheduled Tribes/Scheduled Castes such divorce can be decided by Panchayat or the Village Panch with witnesses from the community. However, such dissolutions are also challengeable in the court and once challenged the court will examine the pros and cons. For Scheduled Tribes and Castes even divorce by mutual consent on 500 rupees stamp paper used to be good enough but it has created some problems.

The commentaries and manuals should not be believed and followed per se. The diligent persons must read them in consonance with the latest judgements by the higher courts and the Supreme Court. Each case is decided on its merits and it may so happen that with the similar facts but different circumstances, judgements may differ. So it is always the latest judgements on the subject by the higher courts and the statutes that should be kept in mind while considering any matter. This should be followed as a thumb rule.

Thank you very much Mr. Valentine. Your advice has beenmost helpful.

>>So it is always the latest judgements on the subject by the higher courts and the statutes that should be kept in mind while considering any matter.

Is there anyway to search through the judgements online to sort out the ones relevant,

Best regards.

Can one re-appeal  after the application got rejected , in the same court or   can it also be done in a different place?

Without exactly quoting what is the order of judge on 21.7.2010, we cannot advise you properly.

The divorce grounds are carved out in S.13 of H.M.A.  Beyond this, you cannot get divorce.  Do not waste your energy thinking that Panchayat or caste people, in the name of tradition, can pass the decree of divorce.  The mutual consent divorce on Rs.50/- stamp paper stamped by notary is totally fraud.  But, as both the parties are in bonafide belief that they got divorce, no problem is arising out of such fradulent panchayat and caste settlements on divorce.  If any one of the parties marry again and the person, who marries that party is well aware of legal position, may raise objection as well as lititgation.

is there anything else we can do except going for HC ?

the judge said the  1yr period has not been completed and wont hear no more from the lawyer - it means judge wants the party's apperance at court instead of lawyer. it is good for you. attend the court and tell your problem there.

Do divorces decreed by panchayats valid and legal ? - no.