Divorce under Hindu Law: An Analysis

The term “Divorce” was unknown to the traditional Hindu system. Traditionally, in Hindu communities, marriage was viewed as a sacrament and unbreakable, reflecting beliefs about the sanctity of marital vows and their connection to spiritual, moral and societal order. The role of women in family was very much restricted towards rearing of children and taking care of the home. The status of women has always been secondary to that of men and in patriarchal societies. Also, the social, economic, educational, marital, cultural and religious status of women in our society was inferior to that of men. Even today, in the 21st century, Indian patriarchal society, women do not have the same status as men. Considering the social relations between men and women at different levels of social life, it could be seen that women do not get equal status with men in all aspects of social life like family, religion, caste and culture. This inequality has resulted in enormous growth of violence against women that led to the need for regulating the personal matters of various religious groups. Accordingly, the Hindu Marriage Act came into effect on 18th May 1955, for protecting of rights and interests of the persons belonging to Hindu community with specific reference to marriage, matrimonial reliefs, maintenance, custody of children etc., The act has provided with various grounds for divorce under Section 13. This article is throwing light on the grounds for divorce provided under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act with some important case laws.