Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Divorce Grounds and Legal Procedure
Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides the grounds on which a Hindu marriage may be dissolved by a court decree. It distinguishes fault-based grounds, post-decree grounds, and additional grounds available to a wife. A marriage does not end merely because spouses live apart: ordinarily, a decree of divorce is necessary.
What does Section 13 mean?
Section 13(1) allows either husband or wife to petition for divorce on specified grounds concerning the other spouse. Section 13(1A) provides additional grounds after certain matrimonial decrees. Section 13(2) gives a wife further specified grounds. The petitioner must establish the relevant statutory requirements, and the court must consider the safeguards under Section 23.
Section 13(1): Grounds available to either spouse
Section 13(1)(i): Adultery
Voluntary sexual intercourse with a person other than one's spouse after solemnization of marriage is a ground for divorce. Although adultery is no longer a criminal offence, it remains a civil matrimonial ground.
Section 13(1)(ia): Cruelty
Treating the petitioner with cruelty after marriage can justify divorce. Cruelty may be physical or mental; courts evaluate the conduct, its seriousness and the circumstances of the marriage. Ordinary disagreements alone do not automatically establish cruelty.
Section 13(1)(ib): Desertion
The respondent must have deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years immediately before the petition. The statutory explanation includes abandonment without reasonable cause, without consent or against the petitioner's wishes, and wilful neglect. The necessary intention and circumstances must be proved.
Section 13(1)(ii): Conversion
A spouse ceasing to be Hindu by conversion to another religion is a statutory ground. Conversion does not, by itself, automatically dissolve the marriage.
Section 13(1)(iii): Mental disorder
The provision covers incurable unsoundness of mind, or mental disorder continuous or intermittent of such a kind and extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent. The Act defines mental disorder to include mental illness, arrested or incomplete development of mind, psychopathic disorder and schizophrenia. It defines psychopathic disorder by reference to persistent disorder or disability resulting in abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct. A diagnosis alone is not necessarily sufficient; the statutory threshold must be met.
Section 13(1)(iv): Repealed leprosy ground
The former leprosy ground was omitted by Section 5 of the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019, effective 1 March 2019. Leprosy is not an independent divorce ground under the present clause.
Section 13(1)(v): Communicable venereal disease
The other spouse suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form remains a ground stated in the Act. Evidence and the statutory facts matter; the provision should not be read as a general ground for any illness.
Section 13(1)(vi): Renunciation of the world
Renunciation by entering a religious order is a specified ground. Mere religious interest or a change in lifestyle does not necessarily meet this requirement.
Section 13(1)(vii): Not heard of as alive for seven years
The spouse must not have been heard of as alive for seven years or more by people who would naturally have heard from them if alive. The petitioner must establish the statutory circumstances.
Section 13(1A): Divorce following an earlier decree
Either spouse may seek divorce where there has been:
- Section 13(1A)(i): no resumption of cohabitation for at least one year after a decree for judicial separation; or
- Section 13(1A)(ii): no restitution of conjugal rights for at least one year after a decree for restitution of conjugal rights.
These are grounds for a further divorce petition, not automatic termination of marriage. See Section 10 on judicial separation and Section 9 on restitution of conjugal rights.
Section 13(2): Additional divorce grounds available to a wife
Section 13(2)(i): Certain pre-Act polygamous marriages
For a marriage solemnized before commencement of the 1955 Act, the wife may petition where the husband had married again before commencement, or another wife married before commencement was alive at the petitioner's marriage, provided that other wife is alive when the petition is presented. This is a historical, narrowly defined ground.
Section 13(2)(ii): Specified sexual offences
The husband has, since solemnization of the marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality, as expressed in the statute. Whether the factual and legal requirements are met must be assessed in light of current criminal law and applicable judicial interpretation.
Section 13(2)(iii): Maintenance order and no resumed cohabitation
A wife may rely on a qualifying maintenance decree or order against the husband while she lives apart, under Section 18 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 or the maintenance proceedings specified in this clause, where cohabitation has not resumed for at least one year after the order. The statutory text refers to former Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and its earlier equivalent; corresponding maintenance provisions under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 must be considered for newer proceedings, including transitional rules.
Section 13(2)(iv): Repudiation of child marriage
A wife whose marriage was solemnized before she turned 15 may petition if she repudiated the marriage after turning 15 but before turning 18, whether or not the marriage was consummated. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also contains distinct remedies and time limits which may be relevant.
Uttar Pradesh state amendment
Uttar Pradesh Act 13 of 1962 historically inserted a cruelty-related provision into Section 13(1) and substituted an earlier clause concerning non-resumption of cohabitation after judicial separation. Subsequent central amendments in 1964 and 1976 changed the numbering and national framework, including the current cruelty ground in Section 13(1)(ia) and the post-decree ground in Section 13(1A). The older state text should therefore not be applied in isolation as a separate, presently universal two-year rule. In cases involving Uttar Pradesh, verify the applicable state amendment, commencement, domicile and judicial interpretation.
How to file a divorce petition under Section 13
- Identify the ground: determine which clause applies and collect reliable evidence of the required facts.
- Check timing: Section 14 generally restricts divorce petitions during the first year of marriage, subject to court permission for exceptional hardship or depravity.
- Choose the competent court: Section 19 addresses territorial jurisdiction; Family Courts exercise jurisdiction where established.
- Prepare and file: plead material facts and verify the petition under Section 20, following applicable court rules.
- Participate in proceedings: the court considers evidence, statutory safeguards, reconciliation where appropriate, and any interim or ancillary relief.
- Obtain a decree: the marriage is dissolved by a valid divorce decree, subject to appeal and remarriage rules.
Related legal provisions
- Section 13A: judicial separation as alternative relief in eligible divorce cases.
- Section 13B: divorce by mutual consent, a separate procedure.
- Section 14: ordinarily no divorce petition within one year of marriage.
- Section 15: remarriage following divorce.
- Sections 23, 24, 25 and 26: decree safeguards, interim maintenance and expenses, permanent alimony, and orders relating to children.
Frequently asked questions
Is mutual consent divorce covered by Section 13?
Mutual consent divorce is specifically governed by Section 13B, while Section 13 primarily provides contested divorce grounds.
Is living separately for two years enough for divorce?
Not automatically. Desertion under Section 13(1)(ib) requires its full statutory elements, not merely physical separation. Mutual consent divorce has different requirements.
Is irretrievable breakdown of marriage an express ground under Section 13?
No. The Supreme Court has exercised its special constitutional power under Article 142 in appropriate cases, but that does not create an ordinary statutory ground available to all trial courts.
Can a spouse remarry immediately after a divorce decree?
Section 15 governs when remarriage becomes lawful, including applicable appeal considerations. Obtain case-specific advice before remarrying.
Official legislation and further reading
Read the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (India Code PDF), the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the India Code portal for legislation and updates.
Legal information updated 21 October 2026. This overview is educational and does not replace advice on the facts of a particular case. Verify applicable state amendments, transitional provisions and current judicial decisions before filing.