How Long Does A Contested Divorce Take In India?

A contested divorce is a kind of divorce where the proceedings for divorce are initiated by one party to the marriage only. The grounds for filing for a contested divorce are almost top divorce lawyers in bangalore  common in the Acts mentioned below and a petition can be filed for divorce based on these grounds only. 

The grounds provided to file for a contested divorce in India are mainly- Adultery, Cruelty, Desertion, Conversion to another religion, Communicable venereal diseases, Grave mental Disorder and Other grounds such as the impotence of the spouse, imprisonment, failure to provide maintenance, etc.

Divorce Lawyer In Delhi, Divorce Lawyer In Mumbai, Divorce Lawyers In Hyderabad
Kinds of Divorce-

The parties to a marriage, if they find themselves unable to continue their relationship and wish to separate or end the marriage altogether, they opt for divorce. The decision to divorce could be agreed by both parties or could be non-agreeable to one of the parties.

When both husband and wife mutually agree to end their relationship, they can file a joint petition for divorce; in this situation the divorce filed is by the mutual consent of the parties and could also be called a divorce by mutual consent.

If one of the parties to marriage wishes to separate from the other party without his/her agreement, for reasons such as cruelty or adultery of the partner etc. The party could file a petition for divorce on the grounds provided by law. Here, the other party would be a defendant in the case. The divorce in such a situation is called a contested divorce.

Different stages of a contested divorce-

To apply for a contested divorce, different stages of the legal procedure involved are-

Appointing the attorney-

It is one of the most important steps before applying for divorce, appointing an experienced divorce lawyer in Mumbai. Selecting an advocate would decide the course of action of your case. Only after going through the facts of your case, your lawyer could decide the grounds on which the partition for divorce could be filed.

Either of the parties could file for divorce-

After you have appointed the lawyer, all information and documents related to the case are required to be duly provided to the advocate. Based on these documents as well as the facts of the case, the advocate will then draft a divorce petition and file it in the appropriate court. The primary jurisdiction in divorce cases lies with the family court. After the petition for divorce is filed, a notice is served to the respondent by the plaintiff or through the court.

Appearance before the Court and reconciliation-

After the service of the notice, parties are required to appear before the court on the date provided. If the court is of the view that there could be a chance of reconciliation, it will forward the matter to the Legal Services Authority where there are conciliators who look for the probability of reconciliation, thus trying to settle the issue between the parties.

In case the parties agree to settle their differences, then the petition for divorce is withdrawn from the court, if they still wish to continue with divorce then the following stages shall be followed.

Reply from the respondent-

At this stage, the respondent files the reply to the allegations made by the plaintiff in the divorce petition. If the respondent is not in favour of divorce, the defendant is required to deny the allegations made against him/her. In case the allegations are not denied specifically by the defendant, it would imply that the defendant is agreeing to the allegations made against him/her.

Settlement-

After the court assesses the documents and the facts of the case, it settles for the points of consideration which have to be decided as per the Order XIV of the CPC. These points are the conclusion of the unresolved conflict between the parties which has led to the divorce petition. At this stage, the Court can also refer to a third-party negotiation.