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I’m Married Under The Special Marriages Act. Can I Divorce In One Year?

It is a legal provision that creates a unique kind of marriage through registration. Being able to remain in one's current religion or reject it is not a necessity for marriage. The Act aims to legalize interreligious or inter-caste marriages, in contrast to customary planned weddings that involve two families from the same caste or group.


The Certificate of Registration issued under the Act has long been accepted as conclusive proof of marriage. As mentioned in the Preamble, the Act permits divorce as well as a special form of marriage under certain conditions. It also permits registration of such and other weddings.


The Act's goal is to create uniform legal protections for people who want to wed outside of their caste or religion. The Act advances the interests of all Indians by creating a mechanism for interfaith unions. The Act specifies requirements for a legitimate marriage, the dissolution of an interfaith union, marriage registration requirements, and other rules.

As a result, the aforementioned legislation was passed in an effort to uphold people's fundamental rights and give them the freedom to choose their spouses. The Act also aims to recognise the rights of children born from such marriages and lessen the possibility of social problems like love jihad and honor killing.

Legal Provisions:

Divorce dissolves a marriage; the parties become single again and are free to find new companions. The grounds for divorce are outlined in Section 27 of the Act.

  • Adultery: Since the marriage was solemnized, the case's respondent has been having extramarital affairs. According to Dawn Henderson v. D Henderson, adultery is the matrimonial offense in which a married individual engages in consenting sexual activity with a person of the opposite sex who is not the wife while the marriage is still in existence.

  • Desertion: Before the petition was filed, the respondent had to have abandoned the petitioner without justification for at least two years. The simplest definition of desertion is the intentional, persistent abandonment of one spouse by the other, without the other's consent or a legitimate defense. It is a blatant denial of the obligations of marriage.

  • Imprisonment: A sentence of seven years or more in jail has been imposed on the respondent for a crime listed in the Indian Penal Code. On this basis, however, a divorce order cannot be granted until the respondent has completed at least three of the minimum seven-year prison sentences that have passed since the petition was filed.

  • Cruelty: The petitioner must have been mistreated by the respondent ever after the marriage was solemnized. The term "cruelty" may be given a fairly broad sense because the Act didn't define it. In Russell v. Russell, [1897] AC 395, the concept of cruelty in divorce proceedings was established legally.

  • Unsoundness of mind: The respondent must be incurably insane in order to qualify. The burden of proof rests with the petitioner to show that the respondent is mentally incompetent or has routinely or occasionally experienced one of these mental disorders to the extent is unreasonable to expect the petitioner to remain with the respondent.

  • Not heard as being alive: People who are closely linked to the respondent haven't heard from them in at least seven years, according to the respondent. After seven years, it is presumed that a person has passed away if no one who would have known him while alive does so. The burden of proving the respondent's existence rests with the one making the statement.

This crucial section of the Special Marriage Act must be understood by anyone who marries under it. As stated in the marriage books, the parties cannot seek for divorce in the District Court until one year has passed since the day of their wedding.

However, the court may, if any order has been made, state that the petitioner misrepresented the circumstances in order to file for divorce before the year had passed order will only take effect after the year has passed if the petitioner has suffered exceptional hardship or the respondent has demonstrated exceptional depravity on his part.


If the couple lives in Delhi then Divorce Lawyer In Delhi should be appointed. Likewise, if the couple lives in Gurgaon then Divorce Lawyer In Gurgaon can be appointed. Divorce Lawyers In Kolkata can also be appointed.


You can seek assistance from lawyers in Lead India. Talk to a lawyer and seek Free legal advice. Ask a legal question to get a solution to your legal problems.


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lead India
lead India
06 thg 4, 2023

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