TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ABSTRACT(family court) 2

2. History 3

3. Meaning 4

4. Concept 4

5. Objects & Rationale 5

6. Genesis 6

7. FAMILY COURT ACT 1984 8

8. Salient features 9

9. CONCLUSION 11

10. ABSTRACT(divorce) 12

11. History 13

12. INDIAN DIVORCE ACT 1869 16

13. CONCLUSION 18

14. BIBLIOGRAPHY 19

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 FAMILY COURT

ABSTRACT

Family court is a court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation
to family law, such as custody of children. In common-law jurisdictions "family courts" are
statutory creations primarily dealing with equitable matters devolved from a court of inherent
jurisdiction, such as a superior court. Family courts were first established in the United States
in 1910, when they were called domestic relations courts although the idea itself is much
older.

Family courts hear all cases that relate to familial and domestic relationships. Although each
state has a different system utilized to address family law cases, each state strives to provide
families with the best possible outcome in family law cases. Family courts can also issue
decisions regarding divorce cases.

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HISTORY

In India

India is proud of its ancient heritage of a united and stable family system. A gradual trend of
change from extended families to nuclear families, and the fast changing trends in the social,
cultural, economic and industrial scenario is the growing challenges to the institution of
family in India. India maintains a common legal system inherited from the colonial era, and
various legislations by the British are still in effect in modified forms. In family disputes,
religion and personal laws are largely interlinked.

In the United States

In the United States family court falls under the heading of Trial Courts of Limited
Jurisdiction. These types of courts deal only with a specific type of case and they are usually
presided over by a single judge without a jury.

In the United States a family often will use mediation (family mediation) instead of a family
court. This allows families to find solutions that suit their specific needs, rather than being
forced to adhere to the ruling of a judge. The idea of using family court is to put the child first
and help parents resolve disputes.

Cases involving children are primarily dealt with under the Children Act 1989, amongst other
statutes. As of 22 April 2014 there are two family courts:

 The Family Division of the High Court

 The Family Court

The Family Court was created by Part 2 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, merging into one
the family law functions of the county courts and magistrates' courts.

Two types of scenario are covered by the Children Act 1989: private law cases, where the
applicant and respondent are usually the child's parents; and public law cases, where the
applicant is the local authority and the parents are usually respondents. There is much debate
at present over whether the manner in which the law is administered generally leads to
outcomes that are beneficial to the families concerned.

Cases involving domestic violence are primarily dealt with under Part IV of the Family Law
Act 1996.

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In England, a family court may be called upon to require the payment of child maintenance,
when the child is either under the age of 16, or under the age of 20 receiving a full-time
education (but not higher than A-Level or equivalent).

Abusive partners are sometimes allowed to cross examine their victims in extremely stressful
ways. Peter Kyle described it as “abuse and brutalisation” by the legal system of women.
“Mothers need the protection of the law and they need to know in advance that the system is
there to look out and protect their interests,” Kyle said. “It only takes one woman to be placed
in a situation where she can be legally be asked by the man who has violently abused her;
‘When did you last have sex?’. That only has to happen once to realise that the system is
corrupted and domestic abuse is going on in our system in the courtroom.” This is to change.

In Hong Kong

The Family Court of Hong Kong mainly deals with cases relating to divorces and welfare
maintenance for children.

Meaning:

The establishment of Family Courts is described in section 3 of the Family Courts Act, 1984.
“Family Court” means a family court established under section 31. The family courts are
specialised courts, which were established with the objective of maintaining the welfare of
the family by utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to resolve family problems within the
framework of law2. The family courts aims at securing the legal rights of the individuals on
the one hand, and undertake the role of a guide, a helper and a counsellor on the other, to
enable families to cope with their problems, and establish family harmony, following the
principle of dignity of the individual and equality of the status of both the sexes. Family
courts have been established to provide facilities of a legal and non legal nature, so that all
the issues can be resolved in one forum3.

Concept of Family Courts

Marriage is a social institution through which a man and a woman come closer to each other
and start living together. Both the spouses act as complements to each other’s dependency
needs. Harmonious marital relationships between the spouses are required not only for the

1
Section 2 (d) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, establishment of family court is described in section 3 of the
Family Courts Act, 1984.
2
Ratna Varma (Ed.,) Family Courts in India: An Appraisal of Strength and Limitation, Inter India Publications,
New Delhi, 1997, p. 14.
3
Gillian Douglas, An Introduction to Family Law, Oxford University Press, New York, 2001, p. 20.

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welfare of the family, but also for the society at large. However unsatisfying and stressful
marital relations lead to family problems. Litigation in regard to any matter concerning
family, whether divorce, maintenance, custody, education and financial support for children
or a trial of juvenile offenders should not be viewed in terms of failure or success of legal
actions, but it is treated as a social therapeutic problem needing a solution4. In resolving these
family conflicts, human consideration should be given prior importance. For that, the
traditional adversarial procedure has to be modified and replaced by an informal procedure,
which is designed to help people in trouble, to reconcile and resolve their differences, and
where necessary, to provide assistance. It is realized that adjudication of family is entirely a
different matter, and a different culture. It has a different jurisprudence5. The court
adjudicating family disputes should function in a manner that it may tend to conserve and not
disrupt the family life that it should be helpful to individual parties and their children, and
also that it is preservative rather than punishment to family and marriage. It is, therefore,
accepted that the adversary system promotes ritualistic and unrealistic response to family
problems. The fact is that the adversarial process precludes reconciliation and conciliation of
inter-spousal and inter-parental conflicts6.In this system consideration is given to the
contentions and assertions of the parties and evidences led by them to prove or disprove their
assertions and contentions. The court engaged in family problems requires a less formal and
more active investigations and inquisitorial procedure. In other words, it is not a litigation, in
which parties and their counsel are engaged in winning or defeating a legal action, but an
inquisition in which parties, social workers, lawyers, welfare officers, and councillors are
engaged in finding out a solution to family problems. Providing punishment for the wrong-
doer and reward for the wronged is what legal systems usually do, but the system followed in
the family court is inquisitional in character and conciliatory in final disposal7.Indeed the
family courts provide some human services to the family in trouble.

Objects and Rationale of Family Courts

The basic purpose of the Family Courts as embodied in the preamble to the Family Courts
Act is:

4
Paras Diwan, Law of Marriage & Divorce, 4thed, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 2002, p.821.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
N.R. Madhava Menon, David Annoussamy, Judicial Education and Training: A Primer, S.C. Sarkar & Son
Pvt. Ltd, 2000.

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 To promote conciliation in, and secure, speedy settlement of disputes relating to
marriage and family affairs and matters connected therewith. The basic objects and rationale
are:

1. Family unity, which is being progressively undermined by a diversity of forces in modern

society, needs to be strengthened. The intent of the law is to preserve marriage
whenever practicable and not to permit families to be split up by matrimonial
disputes. In case any disputes arise, they should be resolved quickly.

2. The ordinary courts and legal procedures established on the adversarial model are not fit
for the amicable solution of family conflicts. The matrimonial litigation under the
existing laws is too time-consuming. Cases take too long to decide. Hence, the need
for a speedy settlement gave rise to the family court.

3. Conciliation, counselling and individualised treatment based on case study approach with
expertise from law, medicine, psychiatry and social work are put together for handling
family conflicts.

4. Involvement of more women as judges in the family court is necessary. In addition, the
association of women as counsellors and trained social workers are desirable in the
long run.

5. The successful settlement of family problems demands understanding and co-operation

between a number of professionals and involvement of wellmeaning people in the
community.

6. The pledge of a fair trial, which the family court is thought to insure does not ordinarily
result from watching the procedure and evidence that obtains in the regular court.
Suitable modifications in the interest of justice and expeditious administration of
family disputes are, therefore, desirable in the relevant law and regulations.

7. There has to be a sure amount of uniformity in the makeup of the court, training of
personnel and procedures followed for the successful development of family Courts
throughout the state. This may need a responsible body at the central and state levels
to supervise, organise, report and reform the scheme on a regular basis.

Genesis of Family Courts

In many nations there were special courts for family disputes and its settlements with
religious and sociological objectives, which includes the Christian, Muslim and Jewish

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ecclesiastical courts. Another approach has been to establish social courts that have a
functional relation to the legal problems affecting families. Such problems include marriage,
divorce, annulment, maintenance of spouses, adoption, custody of children, legitimacy,
juvenile delinquency, care and protection of children, marriage contracts, and judicial
separation. Although these are the problems that produce the largest volume of private law
litigation in many countries, family law has not in many countries, been given a
corresponding priority by the regular courts. The movement for family courts in the modern
form is understood to have begun in the West in the wake of the realisation that disputes
concerning the family need an approach different from that generally adopted in traditional
courts8.A number of countries have established special courts for cases relating to children
and young people and special procedures for the disposal of such cases.

In the context of family matters, the family law is concerned with human relationship
that require a judicial environment different from that of ordinary civil courts9.The fact of the
dispute in a family may not be as significant as the problem projected in the
issue10.Moreover, since the children and young people are often involved, the court may need
ancillary service of effective social workers, counsellors, spiritual leaders and various social
agencies.

The nature and functions of family courts are varying from nation to nation. Normally
it operates according to lesser procedure than ordinary civil and criminal courts. The family
court is usually a consolidation of several types of courts such as children's courts and
orphans' courts.

In the 19thcentury, the courts for divorce and matrimonial cases was established in England
to relieve ecclesiastical courts. The family court has been functioning in the United States of
America since 191011.It was called ‘domestic relations courts’. In Japan it was established in
1949. In some countries, particularly in communist countries, people’s court and conciliation
courts are established for such disputes. The supporters of family court maintain that family
law is concerned with human relationship and requires a judicial environment different from
that of ordinary civil courts. Another argument of family court is that a high proportion of

8
P. D. Mathew & P. M. Bakshi, Family Courts, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, 2006,p.3.
9
Mamata Rao, Law relating to Women &Children, 2nded, Eastern book Company, 2008, p.380.
10
Eg: Financial difficulties, health, addiction of drug, alcohol or sex etc.
11
Encyclopedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol.II , Helen Heming Way Benton, Chicago, 1913, pp.45-46.

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family proceedings concerning adoption and children in need or care require not so much
application of law12.

Family Court of Eastern Europe and the Peoples Republic of China have been given
wide discretion13 to the judges. Their family courts do what they think just, having regard to
the history of marriage and behaviour of spouses and are constructed with statements of
politico-legal principles and leave much leeway to the judges or conciliators. In Australia and
New Zealand, the family courts are successfully functioning since the last decade. In the legal
system of France and Norway, judges themselves try for reconciliation between the
parties14.In Japan, there is a separate infrastructure to deal with disputes in personal laws. In
India, the Parsi Matrimonial Courts functioning under the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act,
1936, have some elements of a family court, since non lawyer Parsis sit on the court with the
presiding judge15.

Family courts are courts of emotions and sensitivity. Litigations concerning marriage,
maintenance, divorce, guardianship and the property of the spouses are dealt with by them.
Naturally, the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts is excluded and these courts have been
entrusted to deal with the family disputes charged with emotions.

Family Court Act of 1984

In India, the Family Courts Act was enacted on 14 September 1984 to provide for the family
courts with a view to promoting conciliation in and secure speedy settlement of disputes
relating to marriage and family affairs. According to Section 2 (d) of the Family Courts Act,
“Family Court” means a family court established under section 3. It describes the
establishment of Family Courts and says that the State Government after consultation with
the High Court and by notification shall establish a Family Court for every area of the state
consisting of a city or town whose population exceeds ten lakhs and for other areas in the
state as it may deem necessary.

Family courts are a specialized type of courts entrusted with the disposal of cases
concerning disputes relating to the family and to decide matters to make orders in relation to
family law. However, Family courts hear all cases that relate to family and domestic

12
Ibid.
13
Mamata Rao, Law Relating to Women & Children, 2nd ed, Eastern Book Company, 2008, p.380.
14
Ibid.
15
P.D. Mathew & P. M. Bakshi, Family Courts, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, 2006, p.3.

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relationships. The matters which are dealt within the family court in India are matrimonial
relief, which includes nullity of marriage, judicial separation, divorce, restitution of conjugal
rights, declaration as to the validity of marriage and matrimonial status of the person,
property of the spouses or any of them and a declaration as to the legitimacy of any person,
guardianship of a person or custody of any minor, maintenance including the proceeding
under the Cr. P.C16.In particular, the court deals with litigation concerning marriage and
divorce, maintenance, guardianship and the property of the spouses. The family court's
emphasis is put on settling the disputes by mediation and conciliation. This ensures that the
matter is solved by an agreement between both the parties and reduces the chances of any
further conflict. The aim is to give priority to a mutual agreement over the usual process of
adjudication. In short, the aim of these courts is to form a congenial atmosphere where family
disputes are resolved amicably. The cases are kept away from the trappings of a formal legal
system.

The complex nature of the family disputes requires speedy conciliation with speedy,
simple and low cost procedures. The most unique aspect regarding the proceedings before the
family courts are that they are first referred to conciliation and only when the conciliation
proceedings fail to resolve the issue successfully, the matter is taken up for trial by the Court.
The Conciliators are professionals who are appointed by the Court. Once a final order is
passed, the aggrieved party has an option of filing an appeal before the High Court. Such
appeal is to be heard by a bench consisting of two judges.

Salient features of the Act

The title of The Family Courts Act, 1984 reveals its main purpose and scope in the family
disputes. It indicates the speedy settlement of family disputes relating to marriage and other
matrimonial affairs and the need to the establishment of Family Courts in different parts of
the nation17.The purpose of this Act is to resolve the family disputes and emphasises on the
conciliation to family disputes. Though the Act itself does not contain any specific provision
which may ensure speedy settlement of matrimonial disputes, it is perhaps assumed that the
setting up of family courts itself will promote speedy settlement of matrimonial cases. The

16
P.D. Mathew & P.M. Bakshi, Family Courts, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, 2006,p.7.
17
K. Panduranga Rao, Commentary on the Family Courts Act, 1984, Gogia Law Agency, Hyderabad, 2010, p.3.

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success of the family court therefore depends upon the type of personnel, namely judicial and
non judicial, staff associated with such courts18.

Under this Act, the family courts have been given exclusive jurisdiction to deal with matters
relating to matrimonial disputes, including the disputes relating to the property of the
spouses, the legitimacy of any person, guardianship or the custody of minor and maintenance
under the Criminal Procedure Code. The preamble also suggests that the family courts should
endeavour either by settlement or by providing a scope to effect reconciliation between the
couple. In this pursuit family courts can secure the services of medical, social welfare
agencies and their experts to participate in the proceedings to settle matrimonial
disputes19.Since this enactment is made in the public interest, for the expeditious settlement
of family disputes, the procedure for conducting cases in the family court has been simplified.
Application of Indian Evidence Act is not followed in its strict sense and the proceedings are
conducted in an informal way to arrive at speedy settlement20.As a measure of simplification,
procedure engaging legal practitioners for conducting cases of the parties on their behalf is
restricted in the Act. To minimise the time in litigation, the Act provides for only one appeal
to the Division Bench of High Court of the state against the order of the Family Court.

The Act was challenged in various High Courts on constitutional validity. The
Division Bench of Bombay High Court while disposing of a batch of writ petitions
challenging the views of the Act, held that the Act is not illegal, discriminatory or violative of
Fundamental Rights envisaged in the Constitution of India21 and the procedure prescribed
under the Act does not suffer from arbitrariness at all. It was also held that the family courts
have been established in many metropolitan cities of various states to achieve the aims and
objectives of the Act22.So the concept of Family courts implies an integrated, broad based
service to families in trouble.

18
Ratna Varma (Ed), Family Courts in India: An Appraisal of Strength and Limitation, InterIndia Publications,
New Delhi, 1997, p. 15.
19
K. Panduranga Rao, Commentary on The Family Courts Act, 1984, Gogia Law Agency, Hyderabad, 2010,
p.3.
20
Ibid.
21
Latapimple v. Union of India, AIR. 1993, Bom. 255.
22
Ibid.

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CONCLUSION

The family is considered as the basic unit of social system. Hence, for the protection
of society, the families are to be protected. The success in marriage and family relationship
will strengthen the stability of the community and it enrich the future generations. But the
modern family concepts drastically transforms by the information technology and mass
media. It creates consumerism and cultural breakdown of families. The social evils such as
drug and media addiction, alcoholism, etc. are affected in the essential functions of the family
life. But social stability is the most important factor in a healthy family. In a stable family
people are living together in harmony, peace and justice. So the family court structure,
process and functions are preserving the marriage where a marriage has broken down
irretrievably, to dissolve it with maximum fairness and minimum bitterness, distress and
humiliation.

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 DIVORCE

ABSTRACT

Divorce is also known as dissolution of marriage, is the process of terminating a marriage or

marital union. It usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and
responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married
couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. Divorce laws vary
considerably around the world, but in most countries divorce requires the sanction of a court
or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of
property, child custody, alimony (spousal support), child visitation / access, parenting
time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so
divorce allows each former partner to marry another person; where polygyny is legal
but polyandry is not, divorce allows the woman to marry another person.

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HISTORY

India

On an all-India level, the Special Marriage Act was passed in 1954, is an inter-religious
marriage law permitting Indian nationals to marry and divorce irrespective of their religion or
faith. The Hindu Marriage Act, in 1955 which legally permitted divorce to Hindus and other
communities who chose to marry under these acts. The Indian Divorce Act 186923 is the law
relating to the divorce of person professing the Christian religion. Divorce can be sought by a
husband or wife on grounds including adultery, cruelty, desertion for two years, religious
conversion, mental abnormality, venereal disease, and leprosy24. Divorce is also available
based on mutual consent of both the spouses, which can be filed after at least one year of
separated living. Mutual consent divorce can not be appealed, and the law mandates a
minimum period of six months (from the time divorce is applied for) for divorce to be
granted25. Contested divorce is when one of the spouse is not willing to divorce the other
spouse, under such condition the divorce is granted only on certain grounds according to the
Hindu marriage act of 1955. While a Muslim husband can unilaterally bring an end to the
marriage by pronouncing talaq26, Muslim women must go to court, claiming any of the
grounds provided under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act.

In the first major family law reform in the last decade, the Supreme Court of India banned the
Islamic practice of "Triple Talaq" (divorce by uttering of the "Talaq" word thrice by the
husband). The landmark Supreme Court of India judgment was welcomed by women
activists across India27.

Official figures of divorce rates are not available, but it has been estimated that 1 in 100 or
another figure of 11 in 1,000 marriages in India end up in divorce.

Various communities are governed by specific marital legislation, distinct to Hindu Marriage
Act, and consequently have their own divorce laws:

 The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 193628

 The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage act, 193929

23
"Indian Divorce Act -Bare Act" .
24
''Vaklino.com'' - "The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955" (Section 13)".
25
.''indiankanoon.org'' - "Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act".
26
''indiankanoon.org'' - "Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act"
27
Safi, Michael (2017-08-22). "India court bans Islamic instant divorce in huge win for women's rights".
28
"The Parsi Marriage And Divorce Act, 1936".Indiankanoon.org.

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 The Foreign Marriage Act, 196930
 The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 198631

An amendment to the marriage laws to allow divorce based on "irretrievable breakdown of

marriage" (as alleged by one of the spouses) is under consideration in India. In June 2010, the
Union Cabinet of India approved the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill 2010, which, if
cleared by Parliament, would establish "irretrievable breakdown" as a new ground for
divorce. Under the proposed amendment, the court before proceeding to the merits of the case
must be satisfied by the evidences produced that parties have been living apart for a
continuous period of not less than three years immediately preceding the presentation of the
petition.

Islamic law

Divorce in Islam can take a variety of forms, some initiated by the husband and some
initiated by the wife. The main traditional legal categories
are talaq (repudiation), khulʿ (mutual divorce), judicial divorce and oaths. The theory and
practice of divorce in the Islamic world have varied according to time and place32.
Historically, the rules of divorce were governed by sharia, as interpreted by traditional
Islamic jurisprudence, and they differed depending on the legal school.Historical practice
sometimes diverged from legal theory33.In modern times, as personal status (family) laws
were codified, they generally remained "within the orbit of Islamic law", but control over the
norms of divorce shifted from traditional jurists to the state.

Japan

In the Edo Period (1603–1868) husbands could divorce their wives by writing letters of
divorce. Frequently, their relatives or marriage arrangers kept these letters and tried to restore
the marriages. Wives could not divorce their husbands. Some wives were able to gain
sanctuary in certain Shinto "divorce temples". After a wife had spent three years in a temple,

29
"The Dissolution Of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939". Indiankanoon.org.
30
"The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969". Indiankanoon.org.
31
V.R.Krishna Iyer Retd. Judge. Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
32
Maaike Voorhoeve (2013). "Divorce. Modern Practice". The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
33
Maaike Voorhoeve (2013). "Divorce. Historical Practice". The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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her husband was required to divorce her34. In 19th century Japan, at least one in eight
marriages ended in divorce.

There are four types of divorce in Japan: divorce by agreement in which the divorce is
mutual; divorce by mediation, which happens in family court; divorce by decision of family
court that takes place when a couple cannot complete a divorce through mediation; and
divorce by judgment of a district court35.

Greco-Roman culture
The ancient Athenians liberally allowed divorce, but the person requesting divorce had to
submit the request to a magistrate, and the magistrate could determine whether the reasons
given were sufficient.

Divorce was rare in early Roman culture but as their empire grew in power and
authority Roman civil law embraced the maxim, "matrimonia debent esse libera" ("marriages
ought to be free"), and either husband or wife could renounce the marriage at will. The
Christian emperors Constantine and Theodosius restricted the grounds for divorce to grave
cause, but this was relaxed by Justinian in the 6th century.

- The only countries that do not allow divorce are the Philippines, the Vatican City and the
British Crown Dependency of Sark36. In the Philippines, divorce for non-Muslim Filipinos is
not legal unless the husband or wife is an alien and satisfies certain conditions. The Vatican
City is an ecclesiastical state, which has no procedure for divorce. Countries that have
relatively recently legalized divorce
are Italy (1970), Portugal (1975), Brazil (1977), Spain (1981), Argentina (1987)37, Paraguay

(1991)38, Colombia(1991)39, Andorra (1995)40,Ireland (1996), Chile (2004)41 and Malta (201
1).

34
"Japan Times". 2004-06-19.
35
"American Citizen Services- Divorce In Japan". Archived from the original on 2011-09-09.
36
Kaushik (2013-08-17). "Isle of Sark: Europe's Last Feudal State".
37
"Divorce Is Now Legal in Argentina but, So Far, Few Couples Have Taken the Break". Los Angeles Times
38
Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin. American Dictatorships and Democracies,
by Mala Htun, pp 102.
39
Divorce between 1976 and 1991 was allowed only for non-Catholics.
40
Le divorce en droit comparé: Europe by Bernard Dutoit, Raphaël Arn, Béatrice Sfondylia, Camilla
Taminelli, pp.56.
41
"Chile introduces right to divorce". BBC News. BBC. November 18, 2004.

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 THE INDIAN DIVORCE ACT, 1869

During the British period in India, the Governor General in Council applied the Matrimonial
Causes Act, 1857 which regulated the divorce under Christian law in Britain, to India as well
with slight modifications. In India the Act came to be known as The Indian Divorce Act,
1869 which aimed at amending the laws dealing with divorce among Christians and other
matrimonial reliefs; grant authority on the District Court and High Court to deal with matters
relating to matrimonial causes. The Act came into force on first day of April, 1869 which
contains fourteen chapters and sixty two sections.

The Act provides that the Courts shall have authority to grant relief under the legislation, only
if the parties to the dispute profess Christianity. A decree for divorce shall be obtained only
if, at the time of presenting petition, the husband and wife are domiciled in India. The Act
further provides that for allowing a decree for nullity of marriage, the petitioner should be
resident of India when the petition in this regard is submitted. For any other relief under the
current legislation, the petitioner should be residing in India during the petition is submitted.

The District Court and High Court shall have power to grant divorce and other causes as
matrimonial reliefs to parties to the marriage in harmony with the provisions of the Act. But
the Court shall exercise jurisdiction to endow the parties with marriage licenses as if the Act
is not yet passed. The Act recognizes the jurisdiction conferred on the Supreme Court and
High Courts to grant matrimonial reliefs and any order made in this behalf as if such
authority had been conferred under the Act. If any suit relating to the matrimonial causes is
pending before the High Court, such cases shall be dealt by that court itself as specified under
the Act.

In relation to the provisions stipulated under the present legislation, the High Court and the
District Courts shall have authority to grant reliefs according to the principles of the English
Courts in all matters connected therewith. The Act confers power on the High Court to
entertain suits and other issues directly which is instituted in the District Court. The High
Court shall withdraw and transfer any case for trial and disposal to other District Court in
conformity with the Act.

A petition for dissolution of marriage shall be presented by the husband to the Court on the
ground that his wife is guilty of the offence of adultery. The wife may approach the Court for
16 | P a g e
divorce on the ground that her husband has used his service for another religion and had
married some other woman or is guilty of bigamy, bigamy with adultery, rape, sodomy,
bestiality and such other grounds insisted by the Act. The Court on receiving the petition
shall consider the statement of facts and conduct necessary inquiry before arriving at a
conclusion.

Where the Court is not satisfied with the allegations raised by the petitioner, the Court shall
dismiss the petition. The Act does not prevent the aggrieved party from filing an appeal in the
High Court against the order of the District Court. After examining the evidences, if the
Court is satisfied with the contentions raised by the petitioner, the Court shall pass a decree
dissolving marriage, but shall include certain conditions and limitations in such decree. The
Court is also empowered to grant a decree to nullify marriage on the argument that husband
or wife is impotent; they are within a relationship prohibited by law, unsoundness of mind
etc. The Act provides provision for judicial separation on application from either of the
parties to the marriage.

Where the husband or wife leaves the other without sufficient cause, the other party shall file
a petition for restitution of conjugal rights, and the Court on convinced with the arguments
shall pass a decree in this regard. The Court shall determine the custody of children where the
parents have obtained a decree of judicial separation. The procedures to be followed by the
Court shall be in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure. The Act empowers the High
Court to frame rules to comply with the provisions of the Act.

But the Act cannot be declared as a comprehensive enactment because the fundamental
purpose behind the legislation was to amend the Christian matrimonial law and not to ‘frame’
or ‘codify’ new law. Moreover, the Courts are required to Act according to the procedure of
the English Courts and the Act is formulated similar to the provisions of Christian law in
England. To overcome the drawbacks, the Central Government enacted the Indian Divorce
(Amendment) Act, 2001. In the amending Act, the right of husband to claim compensation
from the adulterer was deleted. Many drastic changes were also made in the status of women
and the discriminating provisions relating to property was also modified. Hence, the
amendment made landmark alterations in the Indian Divorce Act to make it suitable under the
Indian Law.

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CONCLUSION
This research was carried out to establish the reasons behind the soaring divorce rates
among young couples these days. As mentioned in the hypothesis, it has been found in
my research that divorce rates today are increasing due to problems brought about
my urbanization. The divorce rate is particularly high among the young couples – ‘Being
young at time of marriage is one of the primary predictors of divorce.'

The top ten risk factors of divorce include marrying without being sure, earning less and
having divorced parents. However, alongside the reasons, this research also focused on
finding solutions to the problems young couples are facing. Divorce is a problem with a
solution, and not all problems should end in divorce. Couples should cooperate to solve
problems and there is no such formula for a happy marriage, and neither is there any
particular reason behind a bad marriage.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:
Indian Divorce Act, 1869 Bare act
Family Courts Act, 1984 Bare Acts

Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce- Kumud Desai

Family Courts Act, 1984- Lawmann's

SITES
https://www.scribd.com/doc/44690945/Reseach-Paper-on-Divorce

https://www.lawteacher.net

ncw.nic.in/acts/The_Family_Courts_Act_1984.

www.advocatekhoj.com

doj.gov.in

https://indiankanoon.org

https://www.legalcrystal.com

https://www.researchgate.net

www.harjindersingh.in/indian-divorce-act

shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

theindianlawyer.in

https://blog.ipleaders.in

www.legalserviceindia.com

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