Notes on Indian law filed under Matrimonial and family, published by Juris Eagle.https://juriseagle.com/insights/practice/matrimonial-and-familyen-inMon, 09 Nov 2026 12:40:42 GMThttps://juriseagle.com/disclaimerhttps://juriseagle.com/insights/anticipatory-bail-matrimonial-cruelty-complaint-section-85https://juriseagle.com/insights/anticipatory-bail-matrimonial-cruelty-complaint-section-85A 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. The accused can therefore apply for anticipatory bail under section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973) to the Court of Session or the High Court, while arrest is separately limited by the notice of appearance under section 35 of the same Sanhita (section 41A of the Code). The bail conditions, mediation, quashing under section 528 after a settlement, and the position of relatives living abroad turn on the statutory text and on decisions of the Supreme Court of India.Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTAdv. Harsha Swaroop PCriminal & Sensitive Litigationcriminal-defencematrimonial-and-familyhttps://juriseagle.com/insights/custody-of-a-child-when-one-parent-lives-abroadhttps://juriseagle.com/insights/custody-of-a-child-when-one-parent-lives-abroadAn 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. India is not a Contracting Party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980, so the remedies for a parent abroad are the Indian statutes and, where a child has been brought to India, a writ of habeas corpus before the High Court. A foreign custody order is only one factor the Indian court weighs, as the Supreme Court said in Nithya Anand Raghavan v. State (National Capital Territory of Delhi) (2017).Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTAdv. Harsha Swaroop PMatrimonial & Child Custodyguardianship-and-custodymatrimonial-and-familyhttps://juriseagle.com/insights/divorce-by-mutual-consent-section-13b-and-the-six-month-waithttps://juriseagle.com/insights/divorce-by-mutual-consent-section-13b-and-the-six-month-waitA 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. The six months is not a fixed bar: in Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur ((2017) 8 SCC 746) the Supreme Court of India held that a court may waive it on stated conditions, and a Constitution Bench held on 1 May 2023 in Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan that the Supreme Court may, under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, grant a decree by consent without a second motion. Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 follows the same scheme.Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTAdv. Harsha Swaroop PMatrimonial & Child Custodymatrimonial-and-familyhttps://juriseagle.com/insights/maintenance-under-section-144-bnsshttps://juriseagle.com/insights/maintenance-under-section-144-bnssSection 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. It runs beside maintenance under other laws, with adjustment between them, and since Rajnesh v. Neha (4 November 2020) both sides file an affidavit of assets and liabilities.Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTAdv. Harsha Swaroop PMatrimonial & Child Custodymatrimonial-and-familyhttps://juriseagle.com/insights/right-to-reside-in-the-shared-household-domestic-violence-acthttps://juriseagle.com/insights/right-to-reside-in-the-shared-household-domestic-violence-actSection 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. Section 2(s) can reach a house owned by the husband's relatives or his joint family in which she has lived in a domestic relationship, an application under section 12 is to be disposed of, as an endeavour, within sixty days of its first hearing, and an appeal lies to the Court of Session within thirty days.Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTAdv. Harsha Swaroop PMatrimonial & Child Custodymatrimonial-and-family2024 Juris Eagle. This website is intended solely for informational purposes and does not constitute solicitation or advertisement under applicable Bar Council regulations. The transmission or receipt of information through this platform does not create an advocate-client relationship. Legal advice is rendered only upon formal written engagement with the firm.