I’ve written a lot about the Procedure for Mutual Consent Divorce and Contested Divorce in my previous articles. A lot has been written about the Grounds for Divorce as well. However, there is another important topic which often isn’t talked about much. That is, territorial jurisdiction for filing a Divorce Petition. Since most marriages in India are governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, therefore for the sake of convenience, I shall explain the provision contained in the Hindu Marriage Act.
The easiest way for me to explain territorial jurisdiction for the purpose of filing a Divorce Petition in India is to tell you about the time when a young couple named Pankaj (real name changed for privacy) and Nisha (real name changed for privacy) came to me. Pankaj met Nisha while he was enjoying a vacation in Goa during the autumn of 2015. He was a Delhite and lived with his parents in Green Park. Nisha belonged to Mumbai. She had been living in Bandra with her parents since her childhood. Continue reading