Kevin Moses Paul
07 September 2021
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 originally, based divorce on the fault theory, and enshrined nine fault grounds in Section 13(1) on which either the husband or wife could sue for divorce, and two fault grounds in Section 13(2) on which wife alone could seek the divorce.
Any marriage solemnised, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the following grounds :-
1.) that the other has, after the solemnization of the marriage, had voluntary s*xual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse or
2.) has after the solemnization of the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty or
3.) has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition, or
4.) has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion or has been incurably of unsound mind, or
5.) has been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and therefore, the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.
All the grounds of Divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act are defined below:-
⭕Adultery — In adultery there must be voluntary or consensual s*xual intercourse between a married person and another, whether married or unmarried, of the opposite s*x, not being the other’s spouse, during the subsistence of marriage. Thus, intercourse with the former or latter wife of a polygamous marriage is not adultery. However, if the second marriage is void, then s*xual intercourse with the second wife will amount to adultery.
⭕Cruelty — The modern concept of cruelty includes both mental and physical cruelty. Acts of cruelty are behavioral manifestations stimulated by different factors in the life of spouses, and their surroundings and therefore; each case has to be decided on the basis of its own set of facts.
⭕Desertion — Desertion means the rejection by one party of all the obligations of marriage- the permanent forsaking or abandonment of one spouse by the other without any reasonable cause and without the consent of the other. It means a total repudiation of marital obligation.
⭕Conversion —
When the other party has ceased to be Hindu by conversion to any other religion for e.g. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, a divorce can be granted.
⭕Insanity —
Insanity as a ground of divorce has the following two requirements-
i) The respondent has been incurably of unsound mind,
ii) The respondent 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.
⭕Leprosy —
Contagiousness of leprosy and repulsive outward manifestations are responsible for creating psychology where man not only shuns the company of lepers but looks at them scornfully.
Thus, it is provided as a ground for divorce. The onus of proving this is on the petitioner.
⭕Venereal Disease —
At present, it is a ground for divorce if it is communicable by nature irrespective of the period for which the respondent has suffered from it. The ground is made out if it is shown that the disease is in communicable form & it is not necessary that it should have been communicated to the petitioner (even if done innocently).
⭕Presumption Of Death - Under the Act, a person is presumed to be dead, if he/she has not been heard of as being alive for a period of at least seven years. The burden of proof that the whereabouts of the respondent is not known for the requisite period is on the petitioner under all the matrimonial laws. This is a presumption of universal acceptance as it aids proof in cases where it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to prove that fact.
However, as per your query, I would like to inform that these actions and threats by your wife could be a result of brainwashing or manipulation from your disowned son. Thus, for this you can suit him u/s 107 IPC for Abetment.
Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code deals with the offence of Abetment. The section further states that - "A person who, by wilful misrepresentation, or by wilful concealment of a material fact which he is bound to disclose, voluntarily causes or procures, or attempts to cause or procure, a thing to be done, is said to instigate the doing of that thing." Abetment is constituted in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860, as follows:-
# Instigating a person to commit an offence; or
# Engaging in a conspiracy to commit it; or
# Intentionally aiding a person to commit it.
The offense of abetment by instigation relies on the intention of the individual who abets and not upon the act which is finished by the individual who has abetted. The abetment might be by instigation, connivance or purposeful aid as given under Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code
However, the words articulated in an angry state or omission without any intention cannot be termed as instigation. Therefore, if you want to take a measure, file a suit against you disowned son for Abetment as he's been manipulating your wife to commit an offence or so.
Hope It Helps
Regards,
Kevin M. Paul