Insights
Matrimonial and family
Notes on Indian law filed under Matrimonial and family. The practice itself is described on its own page.
Anticipatory bail after a matrimonial cruelty complaint: section 85, notice and quashing
A complaint of cruelty against a husband and his relatives under section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (the offence that section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 used to define) is cognizable on the information of the woman or her relatives, is non-bailable, and carries up to three years' imprisonment.
When one parent lives abroad, an Indian court decides a child's custody on the child's welfare and place of ordinary residence
An Indian court decides the custody of a child on the child's welfare, and a petition about the guardianship of the child's person goes to the court of the place where the child ordinarily resides under section 9 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, which in Bengaluru means the Family Court.
Divorce by mutual consent: the one-year separation, the six-month wait and when it is dispensed with
A Hindu marriage can be dissolved on a joint petition under section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 when the spouses have lived separately for one year or more, cannot live together and have agreed that the marriage should end, and the decree follows a second motion made not earlier than six months and not later than eighteen months after the petition is presented.
A wife, child or parent can claim maintenance under section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, with no ceiling on the amount
Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), in force from 1 July 2024 in place of section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), lets a Magistrate of the first class order a monthly allowance for a wife, child or parent unable to maintain themselves, at a rate the text leaves to the Magistrate, with interim maintenance to be decided, as far as possible, within 60 days of service of notice.
A wife's right to reside in the shared household can reach her in-laws' house: sections 17 and 19 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Section 17 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 gives every woman in a domestic relationship a right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she holds any title in it, and section 19 lets a Magistrate pass a residence order once satisfied that domestic violence has taken place.
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