Divorce Lawyer

Key laws & sections

• Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — Sections 13, 13B

  Section 13 covers contested divorce on grounds of cruelty, desertion, adultery, conversion, mental disorder etc. Section 13B is mutual consent — the cleaner, faster route.

• Special Marriage Act, 1954 — Sections 27, 28

  Equivalent contested and mutual-consent grounds for marriages registered under SMA — particularly inter-faith marriages and registered marriages without religious solemnisation.

• Section 13B(2) HMA — six-month cooling period

  The mandatory cooling period between first and second motion can now be waived where the Supreme Court’s Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur conditions are met — settled, no chance of reconciliation, alimony paid.

• Foreign Marriage Act, 1969 & PIL of 2023 (NRI marriages)

  For NRI divorces — recognition of foreign decrees under Section 13 CPC, and the route to a fresh Indian decree where the foreign decree is non-executable.

• Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) maintenance guidelines

  The Supreme Court’s mandatory framework — affidavit of income / assets, standardised maintenance computation, interim and permanent alimony principles. Every divorce now starts here.

How we run the matter

1. 1
   Settlement-first conversation

   Even contested divorces are settled in 80% of cases. We map alimony, child custody, residence, streedhan / mehr and any business / property division before drafting a single page of the petition.

2. 2
   Mutual-consent route — first motion

   Joint petition under Section 13B(1) HMA / 28 SMA, with detailed settlement deed annexed. Statements recorded together, often in a single sitting. Virtual hearings are now routine in Delhi family courts.

3. 3
   Cooling period — and waiver where eligible

   Six-month cooling between motions. Where the Amardeep Singh conditions are satisfied — settled, no reconciliation possible, alimony already paid — we move a waiver application and complete the divorce in 30–60 days.

4. 4
   Contested divorce — pleadings & evidence

   Where mutual consent isn’t possible, we file under Section 13(1) HMA. Strong pleadings on the chosen ground, contemporaneous documentary evidence, and parallel interim maintenance under Section 24 HMA / 144 BNSS.

5. 5
   Decree, registration & post-decree work

   On decree, we file with the marriage registrar, update passport and PAN where needed, and assist with NRI re-registration of the decree in the foreign jurisdiction.

Why Shield for this

• Settlement-first. Recent NRI mutual-consent matter — both spouses based in different US states, divorce filed in Karkardooma, both motions completed via video conferencing, cooling period waived under Amardeep Singh, decree in 4 months from first sitting.
• Alimony drafted to survive scrutiny. We follow the Rajnesh v. Neha affidavit framework — both parties’ income, assets and lifestyle disclosed on oath. Alimony figures we propose hold up at enforcement and in cross-objection appeals.
• Contested when contest is right. A 498A-led false cruelty allegation matched with a counter-petition for divorce on cruelty grounds — both quashed and decree on cruelty obtained at Family Court within 18 months.
• Discreet handling. Most divorce work is sensitive. We treat it that way — no group chats, no junior briefings, partner attendance at every hearing.

Questions clients ask first