Introduction

The concept of marriage is to establish a relationship between the husband and wife.
According to old Hindu Laws, marriage is the formal ceremony and is a religious tie that can
not be broken. According to Smritikars, even death can not break the relationship between a
husband and a wife. The object of marriage is to permit a man and a woman to complete
the religious duties of the life made by God. According to earlier scriptures, a man was
imperfect without a woman and a woman(ardhangini) is also incomplete without her
husband.

In modern laws, if a person does not want to stay in married life and does not want to
extend any longer then he/she can request relief under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 by
way of the Judicial Separation.

The concept of Judicial Separation

Judicial Separation is a medium under the law to give some time for self-analysis to both
the parties of a disturbed married life. Law gives a chance to both the husband and wife to
rethink about the extension of their relationship while at the same time guiding them to live
separately. By doing this, the law allows them the free space and independence to think
about their future path and it is the last option available to both the spouses for the legal
breakup of the marriage.

Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides the Judicial Separation for both the
spouse, those who are married under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. They can claim the
relief of Judicial Separation by filing a petition. Once the order is passed, they are not bound
to have cohabitation.

Filing petition for Judicial Separation

Any spouse who is hurt by another spouse, can file a petition for Judicial Separation in a
District Court under Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the following should be
satisfied:

 The marriage between the husband and wife should be celebrated properly under
Hindu marriage Act.
 The respondent should be settled in the jurisdiction of the court where the
petitioner filed the petition.
 The husband and wife lived together for a particular period of time before the filing
of petition.
Every petition should according to Order VII Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1973 must
contain:

 The date and place of marriage.

  The person should be a Hindu, by his/her affidavit.
 Name, status, address of both the parties
 Name, DOB and gender of children(if any).
 Details of litigation filed before filing the decree for judicial separation or divorce.
 For the judicial separation, the evidence should prove the grounds.

Grounds for Judicial Separation

It is given under Section 10 of the Act; the spouse can file a petition for judicial separation
on the basis of the following grounds:

Adultery [Section 13(1)(i)]- It means where any of the spouses voluntarily had sexual
intercourse with any other person except his/her spouse. Here, the aggrieved party can
claim the relief but that intercourse should be placed after the marriage.

Case- Revathi Vs. Union of India and Ors – In this case, the Court held that Section 497 of
IPC is prepared like, a husband can not prosecute the wife for defiling the sanctity of the
married tie by the charge of adultery. The law does not permit the husband of the offending
wife to prosecute his wife and the wife also has not permitted to prosecute the offending
husband for being disloyal to her. Therefore, both the husband and wife have no right to
strike each other with the weapon of criminal law.

Cruelty [Section 13(1)(i-a)]- When the spouse treats his/her partner with cruelty or inflicts
any mental or physical pain after the marriage. The sufferer can file a petition on the
grounds of cruelty.

Case- Shyamsundar Vs. Santadevi – in this case after the marriage, the wife was badly
harmed by her husband’s relatives and the husband also stood lazily, taking no steps to
protect his wife.

The Court held that the intentional neglect to protect one’s own wife amounts to cruelty on
the husband’s part.

Desertion [Section 13(1)(i-b)]- In this section, it is defined that if the spouse left the other
spouse for any reason without informing him/her for a period not less than 2 years before
filing the petition by another spouse, desertion gives a right to claim relief of judicial
separation for the hurt party.

Case- In the case, Guru Bachan Kaur Vs. Preetam Singh, the husband filed a petition for
divorce after 7 years of declared desertion and never understood the problems of the wife
who was also a working woman. But the wife was willing to live with her husband at her
house in the place of her service.
The High Court held that there is nothing like mutual desertion. One party has to be guilty in
desertion.

Conversion/Apostasy [Section 13(1)(ii)]- If any spouse gets converted into any other
religion other than Hindu, then the other spouse can file for judicial separation.

Case- In Durga Prasad Rao Vs. Sudharshan Swami, it was observed that in every conversion
case, formal rejection of religion or operation of the sacrificial ceremony is not essential.
Therefore, in the case of conversion, the question of fact arose.

Unsound mind [Section 13(1)(iii)]- If any spouse in a marriage is suffering from any
mental disease which is difficult to live for the other spouse with the sufferer. The other
spouse can claim relief from judicial separation.

Case- Anima Roy Vs. Prabadh Mohan Ray (AIR 1969) in this case, the respondent was found
suffering from an abnormal disease after 2 months of marriage. The doctor who checked the
respondent also could not find the particular time of starting the illness. Therefore, it was
held that disease was not proved at the time of marriage.

Leprosy [Section 13(1)(iv)]- If any spouse suffering from any disease like leprosy, which
can not be recovered, then the other party can file a petition for judicial separation because
he/she can not waste their own time due to the sufferer.

Illustration- ‘A’ a sufferer of an abnormal disease and ‘B’ is the wife of ‘A’. If ‘A’ is suffering
from a disease that is incurable and the doctor also can not understand the disease. In this
case, ‘B’ can file a petition for judicial separation if she doesn’t want to continue with her
husband.

Venereal Disease [Section 13(1)(v)]- If any party to a marriage or a spouse has any type
of disease which is incurable and communicable and the spouse does not know about the
fact at the time of marriage, then it could be a valid ground for the spouse to file petition for
judicial separation.

Illustration- ‘A’ is suffering from an abnormal disease that is spread by communication. The
disease which is irrevocable. In this case, ‘B’ the wife of ‘A’ can file a petition for the judicial
separation in good faith for their future of the two children.

Renounced the World [Section 13(1)(vi)]- In Hindu law, by renouncing the world means
“Sannyasa”. Renunciation from the world conveys that the person has given up the world
and leading a holy life. He is considered a civil dead. If a spouse renounces the world to live
a holy life, his/her partner can file for judicial separation.

Illustration- If ‘A’ changed his religion and went somewhere, where people also can not find
him. ‘B’ the wife of ‘A’ got hurt so much by hearing this news. Therefore she can file a
judicial separation.
Civil death/Presumed death [Section 13(1)(vii)]- If a person is not found for 7 or more
years and their relatives or any other person have not heard from him/her or it is believed
that he/she may be dead. Here, the other spouse can file for judicial separation.

Illustration- ‘A’ and ‘B’ have been husband and wife for 4 years and suddenly the husband
disappeared for about 8 years. ‘B’ as his wife she did her best to find her husband in these 8
years but she couldn’t find him. Then, ‘B’ can file the judicial separation for this case.

Additional grounds for the wife to claim justice

Bigamy [Section 13(2)(i)]- It means if the husband is remarried while he is already
married, both of his wives have a right to claim the petition for judicial separation with a
condition that, the other wife is also alive at the same time of filing.

Illustration- ‘A’ and ‘B’ are the husband and wife for 5 years and they are happy with their
family. Suddenly ‘A’ remarried another woman ‘C’ without the consent of his 1st wife ‘B’ and
‘C’ also did not have any idea that ‘A’ is married earlier. When ‘B’ and ‘C’ got to know about
this. ‘B’ can file a petition for judicial separation.

Rape, sodomy or Bestiality [Section 13(2)(ii)]- The wife has a right to file a petition for
judicial separation if her husband is guilty of charges like rape, bestiality or sodomy after
the marriage.

Illustration- ‘A’ and ‘B’ are the husband and wife from 3 years, if the husband ‘A’ raped any
other woman and he is found guilty for that, then, in this case, the wife ‘B’ can file the
petition for judicial separation.

Repudiation of marriage/A option of puberty [Section 13(2)(iv)]- If a girl’s marriage

happened before attending 15 years of age, then, she has a right to claim judicial
separation.

Illustration- There is a girl of 14 years old and she is from a tribal area. There, child
marriage is a very common nature, her parents give her as a present to the bridegroom
without her consent. After marriage, this Act does not allow for leaving a relationship
without any valid reason. There should be particular grounds on which the spouse can file a
case for judicial separation or divorce.

This Act has a great rule to solve the disputes between the spouses and free them from
marital ties. In this case, she filed a petition for judicial separation because of her below
age.

Conclusion
Judicial Separation under Hindu Law is a legal mechanism designed to provide relief for married
couples facing insurmountable challenges in their relationship. It allows spouses to live apart while
maintaining their legal marital status.

The various grounds for judicial separation, ranging from adultery to cruelty and more, offer
individuals recourse to address specific issues within their marriage. It serves as a significant step
before divorce, allowing couples to evaluate their relationship, seek reconciliation or move towards a
more permanent separation.

By providing a structured and recognised path for marital separation, Hindu Law seeks to balance the
institution of marriage with individual rights and the need for solutions when the marital bond
becomes untenable, ultimately promoting fairness and justice within the context of family law.