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Writer's picturethelila500
Feb 17, 20234 min read

What To Do If Wife Does Not Respond to the Court’s Notice on Divorce?

A Notice for Divorce is merely intimation for further proof during the divorce procedure. If your spouse does not reply to the notice of Divorce, then you can immediately file a petition for divorce against him/her on the grounds provided for divorce by the law.


After which the Court would issue notice for his/her appearance. Contested divorce is a type of divorce where proceedings for divorce could be initiated by either of the spouses. Grounds for contested divorce have been provided in the following Acts, which are almost similar and a petition could be filed for divorce based on these grounds-


  • The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

  • The Indian Divorce Act, 1869

  • The Special Marriage Act, 1954

  • The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939

  • Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936


The grounds to initiate divorce proceedings in India are- Adultery, Desertion, Cruelty, Conversion, Communicable Venereal Diseases, Grave Mental Disorder as well as some other grounds including imprisonment, the impotence of the partner, failure to provide maintenance, etc.


The Kinds of Divorce-

  • If the parties to a marriage are not comfortable in continuing their relationship and wish to separate or end the marriage altogether, they can opt for a divorce. Divorce could be consensual or either of the parties could file for divorce on the basis of the grounds provided in the law.

  • If both husband and wife are of the opinion to end their marriage, they can file a joint petition for divorce; in such a situation the divorce applied by the parties is called mutual consent divorce.

  • If either of the spouses wish to separate from the other for reasons mentioned as provided under the law such as cruelty or adultery of the partner etc., the aggrieved party can file a petition for divorce on the basis of these grounds, making his/her partner the defendant in the case. The divorce in these situations is called contested divorce.

Different stages of contested divorce-

If the spouse does not agree for divorce or did not reply to the notice of the divorce, the aggrieved party could file for a contested divorce.While applying for a contested divorce, stages of the proceedings are mentioned below-

  • Appointment of the attorney-

One of the most important steps in order to apply for a divorce is appointing an appropriate Divorce Lawyers in Bangaloreor your city. Appointing an experienced and trustworthy lawyer would decide the course of your case. After learning the facts of your case, your lawyer shall be able to decide the grounds on which the divorce petition could be filed.

  • Either parties to the marriage could file for divorce-

After appointing the advocate, all the information and documents related to your case must be duly provided to the Divorce Lawyer in Lucknowor the lawyer appointed in your city. Depending on these documents and facts of your case, the advocate would draft a petition for divorce and file it in the appropriate court. The primary jurisdiction in the divorce matters lie with the family court. After a petition for divorce is filed, a notice would be served to your spouse through the court.

  • Appearance before the Court and reconciliation-

After the notices are served, the parties to the case would appear before the court on the date provided. In case the court is of the opinion that there is a chance for reconciliation between parties, the matter would then be forwarded to the Legal Services Authority by the Court, where conciliators would try to sort the issues between the couple if possible. If the parties agree to settle the issues amongst them, they can withdraw the petition for divorce from the court, if not then the following steps would be followed.

  • Reply from the respondent-

At this stage, the respondent will file his/her reply to the petition filed by the plaintiff.

In case the defendant is not in favour of the divorce, then he would deny the allegations made against him/her. If the allegations are not denied specifically by the defendant, it would be deemed by the court that the defendant agrees to the allegations made in the plaintiff.

  • Settlement-

After the Court assesses the documents as well as facts of the case presented before it, the court would then settle for the points of consideration which would be decided as per Order XIV of the CPC. These points are unresolved issues of the parties which resulted in the petition for the divorce. At this stage, the Court could also refer for a third party negotiation.

  • Trial-

The date of hearing and the examination of the witnesses would be determined by the court. Prior to this, summons would be served to the witnesses to attend the court proceedings on the date decided by the Court. The procedure of cross- examination as well as final hearing would be done at this stage.

  • Order/ decree-

After the matter has been concluded on the basis of arguments from both parties as well as the evidence provided to it, the Court shall pronounce its order or issue the decree granting or denying the divorce.

  • Appeal-

The divorce decree so ordered by the court could be challenged by appealing to the High Court having jurisdiction over the respective Family Court. A further appeal could also be filed to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. As per Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 or Section 39 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the right to appeal to the Higher Courts against the decree of divorce has been provided.


Conclusion

As discussed above, it could be inferred that the proceedings for a contested divorce may take a longer period of time in comparison to the divorce by mutual consent; it is thus advised to the parties to file for divorce through a joint petition, i.e. divorce by mutual consent.


For a contested divorce, the most important step is the appointment of an experienced Divorce Lawyer in Jaipur or in your own city, who would ensure that your interests are taken care of during the proceedings of the court.


Lead India offers you a team of experienced lawyers, who have been successfully dealing with the matters involving family laws as well as issues including divorce petitions, cases for child custody, maintenance, etc.


Hence, in case you seek free legal advice or need to ask a question to a lawyer, you may contact us.


Call Us: +91–8800788535


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