Contested Divorce in Hyderabad: Grounds, Process and Time

A contested divorce is one where one spouse asks the court for a divorce and the other does not agree, or where the two cannot agree on terms. The court decides whether a legal ground for divorce is proved. This guide explains which law applies, the grounds under each, which court in Hyderabad hears the case, how the case moves, what happens to maintenance, children and property, and what to do if you have been served with a divorce petition. If both of you agree, see our guide on mutual consent divorce instead.

Which law applies · Grounds: Hindu Marriage Act · Special Marriage Act · Muslim law · Christian couples · Irretrievable breakdown · Which court · How the case moves · Maintenance, children and property · If you have been served · Appeal and remarriage

Which law applies

• Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: applies to Hindus (including Virashaivas, Lingayats and followers of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj), Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, and to anyone else domiciled in India who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew, unless shown not to be governed by Hindu law (section 2). It does not apply to members of a Scheduled Tribe unless the Central Government directs otherwise by notification (section 2(2)).
• Special Marriage Act, 1954: applies where the marriage was solemnised or registered under that Act, whatever the religion of the spouses. A Hindu couple married under the Special Marriage Act divorces under it (Hindu Marriage Act, section 29(4)).
• Muslim law: in questions of marriage and its dissolution between Muslims, including talaq, khula and mubaraat, Muslim personal law applies (Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, section 2). A wife’s court case for divorce is under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939.
• Christians: the Divorce Act, 1869.
• Parsis: a separate Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 applies.

Grounds under the Hindu Marriage Act

Either the husband or the wife can ask for a divorce on the ground that the other spouse (section 13(1)):

• has, after the marriage, had voluntary sexual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse;
• has, after the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty;
• has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately before the petition was filed. Desertion means leaving without reasonable cause and without the petitioner’s consent or against their wish, and includes wilful neglect;
• has ceased to be a Hindu by converting to another religion;
• has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder “of such a kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent”;
• has been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form;
• has renounced the world by entering a religious order; or
• has not been heard of as being alive for seven years or more by those who would naturally have heard of them.

Leprosy is no longer a ground; it was removed in 2019. Either spouse can also ask for a divorce where there has been no resumption of living together for one year or more after a decree for judicial separation, or no restitution of conjugal rights for one year or more after a decree for restitution (section 13(1A)).

Additional grounds for a wife (section 13(2)) include that the husband has, since the marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality; that she obtained a maintenance decree under section 18 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 or an order under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 though she was living apart, and they have not lived together for one year or more since; and that she was married before the age of fifteen and repudiated the marriage after fifteen but before eighteen.

Cruelty is not defined in the Act. The Supreme Court, quoting its earlier decision in V. Bhagat v D. Bhagat, has described mental cruelty under section 13(1)(ia) as conduct that inflicts such mental pain and suffering on the other party that it is not possible for that party to live with the other, so that the parties cannot reasonably be expected to live together. It is not necessary to prove injury to health, and “What is cruelty in one case may not amount to cruelty in another case” (Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Sreenivasan, 2023, para 26). Proceedings under the Hindu Marriage Act are civil proceedings, and the court’s satisfaction under section 23 is on a preponderance of probabilities, not beyond reasonable doubt (para 25, describing N.G. Dastane v S. Dastane).

One-year bar: no divorce petition can be filed until one year has passed since the date of the marriage. The court can allow an earlier petition only on the ground of “exceptional hardship to the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent”, and must consider the interests of any children and whether reconciliation is reasonably likely within the year (section 14).

Other remedies: instead of divorce, a spouse can ask for judicial separation, after which living together is no longer obligatory (section 10), or, where the other spouse has withdrawn from their company without reasonable excuse, for restitution of conjugal rights (section 9). On a divorce petition based on most grounds, the court may grant judicial separation instead if it considers that just (section 13A).

Grounds under the Special Marriage Act

Either spouse can ask for a divorce on the ground that the other (section 27(1)): has, after the marriage, had voluntary sexual intercourse with a person other than the spouse; has deserted the petitioner for at least two years continuously; is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for seven years or more; has treated the petitioner with cruelty; is incurably of unsound mind or suffering from mental disorder of the kind described above; has been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form; or has not been heard of as alive for seven years or more. A wife has additional grounds (section 27(1A)), and either spouse can rely on the one-year rule after judicial separation or restitution (section 27(2)).

Under this Act, the one year before which no divorce petition can be filed runs from the date the marriage certificate was entered in the Marriage Certificate Book, not from the wedding (section 29).

Muslim law

A woman married under Muslim law is entitled to a decree dissolving her marriage on any one or more of these grounds (Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, section 2):

• the husband’s whereabouts have not been known for four years;
• the husband has neglected or failed to provide for her maintenance for two years;
• the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for seven years or more;
• the husband has failed, without reasonable cause, to perform his marital obligations for three years;
• the husband was impotent at the time of the marriage and continues to be so;
• the husband has been insane for two years or is suffering from a virulent venereal disease;
• she was given in marriage by her father or guardian before fifteen and repudiated the marriage before eighteen, provided it was not consummated;
• cruelty, which the Act describes as: habitually assaulting her or making her life miserable by cruelty of conduct even if it does not amount to physical ill-treatment; associating with women of evil repute or leading an infamous life; attempting to force her to lead an immoral life; disposing of her property or preventing her from exercising her legal rights over it; obstructing her religious observance; or, having more wives than one, not treating her equitably in accordance with the injunctions of the Qoran;
• any other ground recognised as valid for the dissolution of marriage under Muslim law.

The Act has conditions for some grounds: for example, a decree on the ground of imprisonment cannot be passed until the sentence is final, and a decree on the ground of unknown whereabouts does not take effect for six months, and is set aside if the husband appears within that period and satisfies the court that he is prepared to perform his conjugal duties. Her rights to dower are not affected (section 5).

Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, a pronouncement of talaq-e-biddat, or any similar form of talaq that is instantaneous and irrevocable, by a husband, whether spoken, written or electronic, is void and illegal, and is punishable with imprisonment up to three years and fine (sections 3 and 4). The Act’s definition of talaq is limited to that form (section 2(c)).

Christian couples

Under section 10 of the Divorce Act, 1869, either spouse can ask for a divorce on grounds including adultery, conversion, incurable unsound mind for at least two years, communicable venereal disease for at least two years, not being heard of for seven years, wilful refusal to consummate, failure to comply with a restitution decree for two years or more, desertion for at least two years, and cruelty causing a reasonable apprehension that living together would be harmful or injurious. Divorce by mutual consent under section 10A requires the couple to have lived separately for two years or more.

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage

Irretrievable breakdown is not a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act. In Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Sreenivasan (2023), a Constitution Bench held that the Supreme Court, “in exercise of power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution of India, has the discretion to dissolve the marriage on the ground of its irretrievable breakdown” (para 42(iii)), where the marriage has completely failed and there is no possibility of the parties living together. The Court also said that a party cannot file a writ petition in the Supreme Court under Article 32, or in the High Court under Article 226, seeking divorce on this ground (para 41). The same judgment, agreeing with V. Bhagat, says that “while irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not a ground for divorce, specific circumstances may have to be borne in mind while ascertaining the type of cruelty contemplated by Section 13(1)(i-a)” (para 26).

Which court in Hyderabad

Under the Hindu Marriage Act, a petition goes to the court within whose area (section 19):

• the marriage was solemnised;
• the respondent lives when the petition is filed;
• the couple last lived together;
• where the wife is the petitioner, she is living on the date the petition is filed; or
• the petitioner lives, if the respondent lives outside the territories to which the Act extends or has not been heard of for seven years.

The Special Marriage Act has similar rules (section 31). A Family Court is treated as the district court for its area (Family Courts Act, section 7(1)(b)), so these rules decide which Family Court hears the case.

Where a Family Court has been set up for an area, the suits and proceedings listed in section 7 go to the Family Court, including those between spouses for nullity, restitution of conjugal rights, judicial separation or divorce, or about their property, and proceedings about the validity of a marriage, an injunction arising out of a marital relationship, maintenance, and the guardianship, custody of or access to a minor; the district and subordinate civil courts there no longer have jurisdiction over them (Family Courts Act, 1984, sections 7 and 8). In Hyderabad, the Integrated Family Court complex (“Kalpataru”), Purani Haveli, Chatta Bazar, Hyderabad 500002, opened on 18 March 2023. It houses the Principal Family Court and the I and II Additional Family Courts, Hyderabad, along with Metropolitan Magistrate’s Courts dealing with domestic violence cases, and has a creche and a psychology centre. The Ranga Reddy district court lists a Family Court and an Additional Family Court at L.B. Nagar, and an Additional Family Court for Cyberabad at Kukatpally. Confirm the court for your area before filing.

How a contested case moves

1. Petition: it must state the facts on which the claim is based distinctly and, except in a petition under section 11 to declare a marriage void, state that there is no collusion with the other spouse (Hindu Marriage Act, section 20).
2. Notice to the other spouse: the court issues a summons with a copy of the petition. Service can be by registered post, speed post, approved courier or other permitted means; where the other spouse keeps out of the way, the court can order substituted service, for example by affixing the notice or advertising in a newspaper (Civil Procedure Code, Order V rules 2, 9 and 20).
3. Settlement efforts: the Family Court is to try, in the first instance and where possible, “to assist and persuade the parties in arriving at a settlement”, and may adjourn for that purpose (Family Courts Act, section 9). Under the Hindu Marriage Act, before granting relief the court must, in every case where it is possible consistently with the nature and circumstances of the case, make every endeavour to bring about reconciliation, except in cases based on conversion, unsound mind or mental disorder, venereal disease, renunciation of the world or not being heard of for seven years; it may adjourn for up to fifteen days and refer the matter to a person named by the parties or nominated by the court (section 23(2) and (3)). In Circular No. 19/2019 (16 September 2019), the Telangana High Court recorded a report from its Mediation and Arbitration Centre that Family Courts were referring parties in matrimonial matters to mediation or conciliation when the respondent first appeared, and directed Family Courts to refer matrimonial matters pending for more than two years to mediation or conciliation.
4. Reply: the other spouse files a written statement in reply, and may also oppose the petition on the ground of the petitioner’s adultery, cruelty or desertion and ask for relief on that ground (section 23A).
5. Evidence: the examination-in-chief of a witness is on affidavit, followed by cross-examination (Order XVIII rule 4). A Family Court may receive as evidence any report, statement, document, information or matter that may, in its opinion, assist it to deal effectually with the dispute, whether or not it would otherwise be relevant or admissible (Family Courts Act, section 14).
6. Decision: the court grants a decree only if it is satisfied that a ground is proved, that the petitioner is not taking advantage of their own wrong, that any cruelty or adultery has not been condoned, that there is no collusion and no unnecessary or improper delay (section 23(1)). Each party gets a free copy of the decree (section 23(4)).

Privacy: Hindu Marriage Act proceedings are held in camera, and printing or publishing anything about them is unlawful, except judgments of the High Court or Supreme Court printed with the court’s permission (section 22). In a Family Court, proceedings may be held in camera if the court so desires, and must be if either party so desires (Family Courts Act, section 11).

Lawyers: no party to a Family Court case is entitled, as of right, to be represented by a legal practitioner, although the court may appoint a legal expert as amicus curiae (Family Courts Act, section 13).

Time: the Hindu Marriage Act requires every petition to be tried as expeditiously as possible, with an endeavour to conclude the trial within six months from the date notice is served on the respondent, and an appeal within three months (section 21B). These are targets, not limits, and the time a case takes depends on the facts, the evidence and the court.

Maintenance, children and property during the case

• Interim maintenance: under the Hindu Marriage Act, where either the wife or the husband has no independent income sufficient for their support and the costs of the case, the court may order the other to pay the expenses of the case and a reasonable monthly sum, having regard to both incomes. The application is to be decided, as far as possible, within sixty days of notice (section 24). Under the Special Marriage Act (sections 36 and 37) and the Divorce Act (sections 36 and 37), interim and permanent alimony are framed for the wife.
• Permanent alimony: at the time of the decree or later, the court may order a lump sum or periodical payments, having regard to both parties’ income and property, their conduct and other circumstances, and may vary the order if circumstances change (section 25). The Act sets no formula.
• Disclosure of assets: as quoted by the Supreme Court in Aditi v Jitesh Sharma (2023), its judgment in Rajnesh v Neha (2020) requires both parties to file an Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities in all maintenance proceedings, including before a Family Court.
• Children: the court may make orders on the custody, maintenance and education of minor children, consistently with their wishes wherever possible, during the case and in the decree (section 26). See our guide on child custody.
• Property: the court may make provision in the decree for property “presented, at or about the time of marriage, which may belong jointly to both the husband and the wife” (section 27). This does not cover all property acquired during the marriage.

Maintenance can also be claimed separately under section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (see our maintenance guide), and protection, residence and monetary orders under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (see our domestic violence guide).

If you have been served with a divorce petition

• Do not ignore the notice. If you do not appear and service is proved, the court may hear the case ex parte, that is, without you (Order IX rule 6).
• Reply in time. The Civil Procedure Code requires a written statement within thirty days of service, with an outer limit of ninety days for recorded reasons (Order V rule 1). A Family Court may lay down its own procedure with a view to arriving at a settlement or at the truth of disputed facts (Family Courts Act, section 10(3)), so check the dates given by the court.
• Your options: you can contest the grounds, raise the petitioner’s own adultery, cruelty or desertion and ask for relief yourself (section 23A), ask for interim maintenance if you qualify (section 24), and take part in mediation.
• If a decree was passed without you: an application to set aside an ex parte decree must be made within thirty days of the decree or, where the summons was not duly served, from when you came to know of it (Limitation Act, Schedule, Article 123); for this purpose substituted service under Order V rule 20 is not treated as due service. The court sets the decree aside if the summons was not duly served or you were prevented by sufficient cause from appearing, but not merely for an irregularity in service if you had notice of the hearing date and sufficient time to appear (Order IX rule 13).
• Proceedings in two places: if your spouse filed in one court and you later filed for divorce or judicial separation in another, the later case is transferred so that both are heard together (section 21A).

Appeal and remarriage

Appeal: an appeal from a Family Court judgment lies to the High Court and is heard by a bench of two or more judges. The Family Courts Act says it must be filed within thirty days of the judgment (section 19(3)); the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act give ninety days (section 28(4) and section 39(4)). Because the two periods differ, take advice immediately after a decree and work to the thirty-day period. No appeal lies from a decree or order passed by a Family Court with the consent of the parties (Family Courts Act, section 19(2)).

Remarriage: under the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act, a divorced person may lawfully marry again when there is no right of appeal against the decree, or the time for appealing has expired without an appeal, or an appeal has been presented and dismissed (Hindu Marriage Act, section 15; Special Marriage Act, section 30). Under the Divorce Act, either party may marry again once the time for appeal has expired without an appeal to any court, including the Supreme Court, or an appeal has been dismissed and the decree or dismissal has become final (section 57). Where an appeal lies, remarriage is not lawful on the date of the decree itself. Because the Acts state the appeal period from a Family Court decree differently (see above), take advice before remarrying.

Related guides: family and divorce, mutual consent divorce, maintenance, child custody, domestic violence and marriage registration.

For a discussion about a divorce matter with Musab Hashmi & Associates, call +91 89771 24916 or send an enquiry. Do not send identity numbers, financial details or copies of documents in the first message.

General legal information, not legal advice. Checked on 27 October 2026 against the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, the Divorce Act, 1869, the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Family Courts Act, 1984, the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the Limitation Act, 1963, the Supreme Court’s judgments in Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Sreenivasan (2023) and Aditi v Jitesh Sharma (2023), Telangana High Court Circular No. 19/2019, and the official pages of the Integrated Family Court, Hyderabad (27 October 2026) and the Ranga Reddy district court (25 October 2026).