Divorce in Hindu Law

Abstract

This chapter examines the law of divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, rooted in the classical understanding of Hindu marriage as a sacred sacrament (samskara), an indissoluble union grounded in dharma and religious duty as conceived by the Manusmriti. This sacral conception has shaped the enduring disinclination of both Parliament and the judiciary to dissolve matrimonial bonds lightly, with divorce consistently treated as a remedy of last resort and Section 23(2) imposing a statutory duty on courts to attempt reconciliation before proceeding on the merits. The chapter systematically analyses all grounds of divorce under Section 13, encompassing faultbased grounds including adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion, and mental disorder; the four wife- specific grounds under section 13(2); and the no fault-based grounds including the breakdown-adjacent grounds under Section 13(1A) and mutual consent divorce under Section 13B. The chapter concludes that contemporary divorce law balances respect for marriage's sacramental origins with relief for genuinely broken unions.