Theme: Family & Marriage

Proof of Divorce under Hindu Marriage Law

The proof that your divorce has happened is the Court’s final order known as ‘decree of divorce’. This is in the form of an order, which is a document that enforces your divorce.

A decree of divorce is final when either of the two happens:

  • The spouse who is unhappy with the decision of the Court has already appealed the decree of divorce within 90 days, and the Court has dismissed that appeal.
  • There is no right to appeal.

Please consult a lawyer for more information on this.

Cruel Behavior and Muslim Marriage Law

There are provisions on cruel behavior under the Muslim marriage law. Cruelty is any conduct or behavior which causes harassment in the mind of the spouse. Under the Muslim law, cruelty is specifically understood as when your husband:

  • Habitually assaults you or physically abuses you.
  • Has sexual intercourse with other women.
  • Forces you to lead an immoral life.
  • Disposes of your property and prevents you from exercising your legal rights over it.
  • Obstructs you from practicing your religion.
  • In a scenario where he has more than one wife and does not treat you equally as compared to the other wives.

Child Marriage Prohibition Officers

Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) are appointed by the State governments to curb issues of child marriages in each State. These officers are responsible for reporting and preventing child marriages. 

The duties of the CMPO are decided and assigned by the State Government. They broadly include:

  • Prevention of Child Marriage by preventing performance of child marriage by taking such action as he deems fit.
  • Collection of Evidence for prosecuting persons charged under this law. 
  • Advising and counselling people of a locality against indulging in any child marriages in any way.
  • Spreading Awareness of the problems that arise out of child marriages, such as maternal mortality, malnutrition, domestic violence, etc.
  • Sensitizing the community on the issue of child marriage.
  • Reporting periodical returns and statistics to the State Government on the frequency and occurrence of child marriage. 

In order to effectively carry out their duties, the State Government can even confer upon the CMPO some powers of a police officer with certain conditions and limitations. This has to be done by way of a notification in the Official Gazette. 

To read more about the functioning of the CMPO, please refer to this Government Handbook that explains their duties in detail. (page 19-22)

What is a ‘Special Marriage’ or Inter-Religious Marriage?

Civil marriages, also commonly called ‘Special Marriages’ or ‘Inter-religious marriages’ do not depend on the religion of the couple. Instead, the marriage happens under the Special Marriage Act where a couple practicing a different faith or religion have the right to get married in India.1

To get married under this law, you need to figure out if you and your spouse are legally eligible to get married. For example, you need to be over a certain age to be able to get married and you cannot have another living spouse from whom you have not been divorced.

 

  1. The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]

Procedure for Adoption by Relative (Non-Religious Law)

As a relative of a child, following the non-religious law to adopt, you can adopt both within India and also do inter-country adoptions.

Adoption within India (In-Country Adoption)

Follow the steps given below for adopting a child through in-country relative adoption i.e. adoption within India.(( Regulation 51, Adoption Regulations, 2017.)) 

Step 1: You should determine if you can adopt the child. You must be related to the child in any of the following ways:(( Section 2(52), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) 

  • You must be his/her paternal uncle or aunt,
  • You must be his/her maternal uncle or aunt, 
  • You must be his/her paternal grandparent, 
  • You must be his/her maternal grandparent.

You must also be(( Ministry of Women and Child Development, Central Adoption Resource Authority, Relative Adoption (In-country), http://164.100.158.243/carings/family/famhome.aspx.)) either a Resident Indian or Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) residing in India for at least one year.

Step 2: You must register on the website of Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), here. It will redirect you to Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS). You should submit the required documents,(( Schedule VI, Adoption Regulations, 2017.)) which are:

  • Proof of residence 
  • Consent of the child, if the child is aged more than 5 years
  • Consent of the biological parents in this format , or permission from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to the legal guardian of the child to surrender the child and give him/her up for adoption in this format 
  • Adoption order from court, as described in step 3. 
  • Affidavit in support of you and your spouse’s relationship, and your financial and social status in this format

Step 3: Thereafter, you must file an adoption application with the relevant Court, in this format. Once obtained, you must upload it on Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS).

For more information on the procedure, please see here.

Adoption across Countries (Inter-Country Adoption)

Follow the steps given below for adopting a child through inter-country relative adoption.(( Regulation 53, Adoption Regulations, 2017.)) 

Step 1: You should determine if you can adopt a child. You may adopt a relative’s child if you are a Non-Resident Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India. 

Step 2: You should approach the relevant authority i.e. the Authorized Foreign Adoption Agency or the Central Authority in your country of residence. In case there is no Authorized Foreign Adoption Agency or Central Authority in your country of residence, then you should approach the relevant Government department or Indian diplomatic mission (in cases of Indian citizens) in that country. They will guide you on the home study that will be conducted and once that is done, the registration process.

Step 3: You should submit the required documents.  Please ask the authority you have approached for more details on this. 

Step 4: Once your documents have been submitted, the authority will forward your application to the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) for a family background report ( this might be chargeable). See here for more details on the report. This report will be forwarded to the receiving country and the relevant authority. 

Step  5: You should file an application for adoption to Court in the district where the child resides in this format, with a consent form from the biological parents and all the other documents, which are:

  • Consent of the child, if the child is more than 5 years old
  • Permission of the receiving country
  • Your relationship with the child (family tree)
  • Recent family photographs of you, the child and the biological parents
  • Consent of the biological parents in this format or permission from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to the legal guardian of the child to surrender the child and give him/her up for adoption in this format 
  • Family background report 

Thereafter, you should furnish a certified copy of the adoption order to the DCPU. 

Step 6: The relevant authority will provide a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in favor of the adoption within ten days of receiving the adoption order from the DCPU. 

For more information, please see here. 

Reconciliation during divorce proceedings under Hindu Marriage Law

In all family law cases, Courts encourage an attempt for reconciliation between the spouses.

Consequence of Reconciliation

After reconciliation happens, either:

  • You and your spouse can get back together and continue your marital relationship, or
  • You and your spouse can decide to end the marriage peacefully and divorce each other.

There are three kinds of reconciliation methods in India:

Mediation

  • Mediation is a process of resolving conflicts by identifying their causes and then making a strategy to address them. This is done by a mediator who is a person either appointed by the Court during the divorce proceedings or is assigned from a Mediation Centre which is located near the Court.

Conciliation

  • In Conciliation, a person known as the conciliator is appointed.  His role is to persuade the parties to arrive at a solution suggested by him during the course of the discussions.

Counsellor in Family Courts

  • A counsellor is a person whose job is to provide advice, help, or encouragement to solve problems during divorce and other family matters.
  • A counsellor is a person appointed by a Family Court to find out:
    • The reason why or if you and your spouse are incompatible for each other.
    • Whether the incompatibility can be fixed by any psychological or psychiatric assistance from doctors.
    • Whether you and your spouse are under the influence of anybody else to divorce each other.
    • Whether you and your spouse are taking free and independent decisions regarding the divorce.

 

Iddat After Divorce in Muslim Marriages

The Iddat period after divorce in a Muslim marriage is a period of time where the wife is not allowed to marry anyone else or have sexual intercourse with anyone. Only women have to follow the Iddat period under the Muslim Law.

If you have been divorced by your husband then the Iddat period is:

  • Three months from the date your husband says the word ‘talaq’.
  • If you are pregnant during this iddat period, then until the date of delivery.

Your husband can always change his mind during the iddat period and take back his talaq, after which, you will be a married couple again.

Conditions To Be Fulfilled For A Valid Inter-Religious Marriage

The following are the conditions you have to keep in mind at the time of marriage:1

  • Neither party has a living spouse.
  • Neither party:
    • is incapable of giving valid consent to the marriage in consequence of unsoundness of mind.
    • though capable of giving valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind that they are unfit for marriage and unfit to have children.
    • has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy.
  • The male is at least twenty-one years of age and the female is at least eighteen years of age.
  • The parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

Marriages governed by customs

In cases where customs are involved for a person belonging to a tribe, community, group, or family, the State Government can make rules governing them and the solemnization of marriage. This is not needed in cases where:

  • Such customs have been continuously observed for a long time among the members.
  • Customs or rules are not against public policy.
  • The customs or rules are applicable only to a family and the family is still continuing the practice.

In cases where the marriage is solemnized in the State of Jammu and Kashmir both parties should be citizens of India living in the territories to which the Act extends.

 

  1. Section 4, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]

Procedure for Adoption by Step-Parent (Non-Religious Law)

As a step-parent of the child you want to adopt, you can follow the procedure given below.(( Regulation 52, Adoption Regulations, 2017.))

Step 1: You and your spouse (the biological parent of the child) must register on the website of Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), here. It will redirect you to Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), where you can fill your application details such as  your personal details, employment details, etc.

Step 2: You must then upload the relevant documents, which are:1

  • Proof of residence of you and your spouse
  • Proof of the parties mentioned above being legally wedded. 
  • Death Certificate of the biological parent in case he/she is not alive. 
  • Attested photographs of the child to be adopted, the biological parent(s), spouse adopting the child and the witnesses. 
  • Form from Child Welfare Committee (CWC) granting you permission, as described in step 3. 
  • Adoption order from court, as described in step 4.

Step 3: You must be granted permission from the CWC to adopt the child. You must fill up this form, which also provides  your and your spouse’s consent.  In case children are being relinquished/surrendered by both spouses from their respective earlier marriages for adoption, separate consent forms shall be filled up.

Step 4: You along with your spouse must file an application in the Family/District/City Civil Court in this format. Thereafter, you should obtain a certified copy of the adoption order from the court and submit a copy of it online through CARINGS.

For more information, please see here. 

  1. Schedules XX and VI, Adoption Regulations, 2017. [↩]

Re-marriage after Divorce under Hindu Marriage Law

If you want to remarry, you have to wait for 90 days from the date of the Court’s final order, so that your spouse has time to ‘appeal’ against the Court’s decision.

Under the law, you can remarry right after getting the decree of divorce when:

  • The spouse who is unhappy with the decision of the Court has already appealed the decree of divorce, and the Court has dismissed that appeal.
  • There is no right of appeal against the decree of divorce.
  • Where you and your spouse have settled all issues regarding the divorce such as children, property etc. and both of you have decided not to file any more cases.

Please consult a lawyer for this.

Mehr/Dower in a Muslim Marriage

During a Muslim marriage ceremony, a sum of money or property will be decided to be paid to you by your husband, known as mehr or dower. Traditionally mehr is understood as an amount reserved for the wife for when she needs it the most, that is either after divorce or death of the husband.

Even if no specific amount is fixed at the time of the marriage, legally you have a right to mehr. It can either be paid in full at the time of marriage or in parts, i.e. half at the time of marriage and the rest upon divorce or death of your husband.

Once your divorce is final, and your iddat period has been completed, if you haven’t received your mehr amount from your husband then your husband has to give it to you.

Process Of Registration of Inter-Religious Marriage Under The Act

The process of registration for a Special Marriage is as follows:

Give notice to the Marriage Officer

  • When a marriage is to be performed under this law, the parties getting married shall give notice1 in writing to the Marriage Officer of the district in which at least one of them has lived for at least thirty days immediately before the date of the notice. Upon receiving an application signed by both the marrying parties for the registration of their marriage, the Marriage Officer shall give public notice and allow thirty days for objections, and hear any objection received within that period.
  • The Marriage Officer will keep all such notices with the records of their office and will also enter a true copy of every such notice in a Marriage Notice Book,2 which must be open for inspection at all reasonable times, without fee, by any person.
  • The Marriage Officer shall publish every such notice by attaching a copy to some noticeable place in their office. Where either of the marrying parties is not permanently living within the district of the Marriage Officer, the Officer shall also pass on a copy to the Marriage Officer of the district where they are permanently living, and that Marriage Officer shall attach a copy to some noticeable place in their office.

Sign a declaration for marriage

  • Before the marriage is performed the parties and three witnesses will sign a declaration 3 in the presence of the Marriage Officer, and the declaration will also be signed by the Marriage Officer. The declaration is in the form specified in the Third Schedule of the Act.

Performance of Marriage and Marriage Certificate

  • When the marriage has been performed 4 and all the conditions are fulfilled, the Marriage Officer will enter the details in a certificate in the Marriage Certificate Book. This certificate will be signed by the parties getting married and the three witnesses. The Certificate will then be unquestionable evidence that a legal marriage has been performed and that all formalities regarding the signatures of witnesses have been followed.

If the marriage has been performed under any other Act, the Magistrate can still register the marriage under this Act, if an application for the same is made by both parties.5

 

  1. Section 5, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]
  2. Section 6, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]
  3. Section 11, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]
  4. Section 12, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]
  5. Section 16, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]

Adoption by OCI or Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or a Foreigner Living Abroad (Non-Religious Law)

Follow the steps given below to adopt a child if you are an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or foreigner living abroad:(( Regulations 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, Adoption Regulations, 2017.))

Step 1: Approach the relevant authority i.e. the Authorized Foreign Adoption Agency or the Central Authority in your country of residence. In case there is no Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or Central Authority in your country of residence, then you should approach the relevant  Government department or Indian diplomatic mission (in cases of Indian citizens) in that country. See here for a list of foreign adoption agencies. They will guide you on the home study that will be conducted and the registration process.

Step 2: You should submit the required documents. Please ask the authority you have approached for more details on this. 

Step 3: Two children will be referred to you for adoption, and you may reserve one child within 96 hours, and the profile of the other child will be withdrawn. If you fail to do this, both the profiles will be withdrawn. After reserving the child, you must accept the child and sign the Child Study Report and Medical Examination Report of the child within thirty days from the date of reservation. Failure to do this will lead to your profile being moved to the bottom of the seniority list, and the child’s profile will be withdrawn. You may also visit the child in person, and have the medical report reviewed by a medical practitioner. 

Step 4: A No Objection Certificate (NOC) will be issued in favor of the adoption by the relevant authority, and posted on Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS). 

Step 5: If you get an NOC , you may take the child in pre-adoption foster care temporarily while the Court order is pending. In order to do so, you will have to provide the following undertaking in this format. You will be given permanent custody of the child after:

  • The passport and visa are issued to the child
  • The Court order is passed. 

Step 6: The relevant authority will file an application with the relevant Court. The Court proceedings will be held in-camera, and your application will be disposed of within two months from when you filed the adoption application. 

Step 7: You must come to India and take the child within two months from the date of the adoption order. Thereafter, the following will be done:

  • A Conformity Certificate will be issued by the relevant authority within three working days of the availability of the adoption order by the Court
  • The authority will inform the relevant authorities, such as immigration authorities, etc. of the confirmed adoption. 
  • The authority will aid in getting an Indian passport, birth certificate and OCI Card (if applicable) for the child. 

Step 8: The relevant authority shall conduct follow-ups to assess the progress of the adoption, on a quarterly basis during the first year and every six months in the second year. In case of any issues, counselling will be provided, and if there is disruption or dissolution of the adoption, the child may be taken back and declared as legally free for adoption.

Please see here for more information on the procedure. 

Maintenance or Alimony in Hindu Marriages

You can get a specific amount of money based on a Court order from your spouse. This can happen only if you do not have any sufficient means of income to sustain yourself or your children. This amount is called maintenance or alimony.

The Hindu divorce law on maintenance is gender-neutral. This means that an application for temporary or permanent maintenance can be filed either by the husband or wife.

Temporary Maintenance

During the course of the divorce proceedings, if you do not have independent income to support yourself and/or your children or to pay the necessary legal costs of the case, you can apply to the Court to direct your spouse to pay you a sum of money as maintenance. The Court will set a reasonable amount, which has to be paid monthly, as temporary maintenance after considering the income and paying capacity of the other spouse.

Permanent Maintenance or Alimony

Along with your divorce case, you can make an application to the Court for permanent maintenance to be paid by your spouse either monthly, periodically or in lump sum.

The Court can order such amount to be paid as maintenance keeping in mind the lifestyle that you enjoyed in your matrimonial home and considering the income and paying capacity of your spouse.

This amount can even be modified at a later date if either of your circumstances have changed. For instance, an increase in educational expenses for children, an increase in salary or standard of living of the paying spouse, etc. could result in an increase in the maintenance amount.

If you are getting maintenance monthly or periodically, then you will get it only till you remarry. It can even be revoked if you do not remain chaste (in case of a wife) or have sexual relations with another woman (in case of a husband).

It is important to note that permanent alimony cannot be granted to you if the main petition requesting a divorce, judicial separation, etc. under Hindu law has been dismissed or withdrawn.

Maintenance for Woman under Muslim Marriage Law

Under Muslim Marriage law, maintenance is paid by your husband to you and your children after the divorce has taken place. You do not have to pay maintenance to your husband as under Muslim law, only a man has to pay and take care of the woman after the divorce.

You can go to the Court to ask your husband to pay you maintenance. Courts determine the sum of maintenance based on the financial capacities of the husband.

Maintenance for Wife

In Muslim law, you have a right to get maintenance from your husband till:

  • Your Iddat period for divorce is over.
  • After your iddat period until you remarry.
  • You can also ask for more maintenance if the amount you are receiving is insufficient based on circumstances.

You cannot get maintenance from your husband if he has died. However, you have options of getting maintenance from:

  • Any relatives who may inherit your wealth and property.
  • Your children.
  • Your parents.
  • State Wakf Board.

Along with your maintenance, you are entitled to get the mehr amount mentioned in your nikahnama. This mehr is given either on divorce or on death of your husband.

Solemnizing an Inter-Religious Marriage

There is no specific form or essential ceremony for a marriage under Special Marriage Act, but there are two possibilities:1

When you and your spouse do not want religious ceremonies

  • The parties can choose not to perform any religious ceremony and merely register their marriage before the Marriage Officer. You can decide how to perform the marriage but you and your spouse have to say the following to each other: ‘I, [your name] take thee [your spouse’s name] to be my lawful wife/husband.’ This has to be done in front of the Marriage Officer and three witnesses, in a language that both parties can understand.

When you and your spouse want religious ceremonies for your wedding

  • You can perform any religious ceremony (according to the personal law) and then register your marriage under the Special Marriage Act. There is one condition: you and your spouse should have been living as husband and wife from the date of the ceremony until the date of registration.

 

  1. Section 12 and 15, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]

Procedure for Hindu Adoption

Under the Hindu law on adoption,(( Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) there is no set procedure on adopting a child. You do not have to follow any guidelines, but you may have to execute an adoption deed. For more details on procedure and the format of the deed, you should consult a lawyer. 

If you are a guardian

A guardian requires the Court’s permission to adopt a child, or give him up for adoption, in certain cases:(( Section 9(4), Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) 

  • Where both the father and mother are dead; 
  • Where both the father and mother have completely and finally renounced the world; 
  • Where both the father and mother have abandoned the child; 
  • Where both the father and mother have been declared to be of unsound mind by the court concerned; 
  • Where the parentage of the child is not known.

Temporary Separation in Hindu Marriages

Apart from divorce, which has a certain finality to it, you and your spouse can even opt for a decree of judicial separation to better understand if you want a divorce.

Through this measure, the Court orders that you have been officially separated temporarily.

Judicial Separation does not have the same legal effect as divorce. This is because your marriage continues to exist. You cannot remarry legally during judicial separation.

You can apply for a decree of judicial separation for the same reasons as that of divorce. But it will not have the same effect as it does for a divorce. You will continue to be a married couple that lives separately.

After the order for judicial separation has been passed, you and your spouse can exercise one of the two following options:

Option I: Cancelling the Order of Judicial Separation You can approach the Court to cancel this order. You are able to reconcile with your spouse and get back together and live as a married couple after cancelling this order.

Option II: Get a Divorce After one year of receiving the order for judicial separation, if you and your spouse believe that there is no possibility of reconciliation you can file for divorce.

During this period you are entitled to alimony from your spouse. Please read this for more information. Further, the Courts will decide on the question of custody of children.

Remarrying Your Divorced Wife in Muslim Marriage Law

If your husband wants to remarry you after a divorce then also you have to observe a period of iddat, which is different from the iddat time period if your husband dies. In a situation where your husband wants to marry you again after divorcing you, then he has to wait till the following happens:

  • You have to follow the iddat period.
  • After the iddat period is over, you have to marry another man.
  • You and the other man have to live together and consummate the marriage. As per the law, your marriage is considered to be consummated when you have sexual intercourse with your husband.
  • The other man has to divorce you.
  • You have to follow the iddat period after a divorce.
  • After the iddat period is over, you can remarry your husband again.

Who is a Marriage Officer?

A marriage officer is a person appointed by the State Government after notification in the Official Gazette. The main duty of a marriage officer is to facilitate the registration and provide the certificate of marriage to the parties.1

  1. Section 3, The Special Marriage Act, 1954. [↩]

Punishments Under Adoption Law

You may be punished if you do the following, regardless of the law under which you have adopted a child:

Illegally taking a child to a foreign country

  • If you take or send a child to a foreign country, or arrange for transferring the child to a person in a foreign country, without a valid order from the Court,1 then you can be punished with jail time of up to 3 years and/or a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. 

Abandoning/Neglecting/Abusing the Child

  • If you, as the caretaker/parent of a child under 12 years of age, abandon the child intentionally in any place to wholly abandon the child, you will be punished with jail time of up to 7 years and/or a fine.2 
  • If you, as the caretaker/parent of a child, assault, abandon, abuse, expose or willfully neglect the child3 or cause this to occur, in a manner likely to cause him/her child unnecessary mental or physical suffering, you will be punished with jail time of up to 3 years and/or a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. If such cruelty makes the child physically incapacitated or mentally ill or renders him/her mentally unfit to perform regular tasks or risks his/her life, you can be punished with jail time between 3 and 10 years and a fine of Rs. 5 lakhs. 

Under the non-religious law on adoption,4 you will be punished if you:

  • Give/receive any orphan, abandoned or surrendered child, for the purpose of adoption without following the provisions of the JJ Act.5 The punishment  for this is jail time up to 3 years and/or a fine of Rs. 1 lakh.  Where the offence is committed by a recognized adoption agency, in addition to the above punishment, the registration of the agency and its recognition shall also be withdrawn for at least one year.

Under the Hindu law on adoption,6 you will be punished if you:

Receive/give a payment or other reward in return for an adoption.7 For this, the punishment is jail time of up to 6 months and/or a fine, after authorization from the State Government.

  1. Section 56(5), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. [↩]
  2. Section 93, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. [↩]
  3. Section 75, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. [↩]
  4. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. [↩]
  5. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. [↩]
  6. Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. [↩]
  7. Section 17, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. [↩]

When can you file for a Hindu Divorce?

You can only file a divorce case if you have a reason recognized by Hindu law. These reasons can vary from ill-treatment by your spouse to your spouse suffering from a mental disorder.

In India, the law provides for specific reasons under which you can file for a divorce.

Ill-Treatment

  • When your spouse has been cruel towards you.
  • When your spouse has had sexual intercourse with another person.
  • When your spouse has left you.

Illness

  • When your spouse is suffering from a venereal disease that can be spread to you.
  • When your spouse has a mental disorder.

Absence of Spouse

  • When your spouse has withdrawn from you.
  • When your spouse has been presumed to be dead for 7 years or more.
  • When your spouse has renounced the world by entering any religious order.
  • When you and your spouse have not gotten back together for more than a year, even after a decree for judicial separation was passed by the Court.
  • Even after the Court has passed an order asking you or your spouse to resume your marital obligations, it hasn’t been done for over one year.

Conversion

  • When your spouse has converted to another religion.

Remarriage under Muslim Marriage Law

For Men

  • If your wife dies or you have divorced her (validly) you can immediately remarry another woman.
  • If you want to remarry your wife after divorcing her you have to follow certain procedures.

For Women

  • If your husband has died or you are no longer married to him through valid procedures of divorce and you want to marry another man then you have to follow certain conditions:

Iddat

  • The wife cannot remarry immediately but has to wait for a certain period known as ‘iddat’.
  • It is the period during which a Muslim woman cannot marry another man or have sexual intercourse with anyone.
  • When your husband dies, you will have to observe an iddat period of four months and ten days from the date of your husband’s death.
  • When you divorce your husband (and he doesn’t die) then the iddat period is three months from the date your husband says the word ‘talaq’.

If you are pregnant during this iddat period, then after your child has been born your iddat period will begin.

 

 

Help and Support

If you require any help, support or you want to raise an issue regarding the adoption, you can contact the following authorities: 

Child Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)

CARA primarily deals with non-religious adoption(( Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.

  • Helpline of CARA: 1800-11-1311.You may call this number between 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM between Monday to Friday. 
  • Email Address of CARA: carahdesk.wdc@nic.in 

 

Role of Courts

The Courts play a very important role during the adoption procedure. Given below are some of the important roles played by the Court:

 

Adoption Order (Non-Religious Law)(( Sections 12 and 17, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) 

Under the non-religious law on adoption,(( Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) the Court receives the application from the SAA (Specialized Adoption Agency) with the relevant documents of the child so that the Court can assess whether an adoption order can be granted. The application would include:

  • Details of the SAA and co-applicants (if there are any) like Child Care Institutions
  • Details of the prospective adoptive parent(s) such as name, child adoption resource information and guidance system registration number
  • Details of the child that is going to be adopted
  • The fact that the child has been declared legally free for adoption
  • The fact that the adoptive parents have signed a Pre-adoption foster care affidavit allowing social workers of the SAA, DCPU (District Child Protection Unit) to make home visits
  • Copy of the decision of the Adoption Committee 

Read a format of the application here to understand what other details are included in the application. By passing this adoption order, the Court would be granting permission to the parents to be the adoptive parents of the child. Before passing the adoption order, the Court has a duty to keep in mind:(( Section 61, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) 

  • That the adoption is for the welfare of the child
  • That the wishes of the child are taken into consideration, based on age and understanding of the situation
  • That the adoptive parents have not agreed to or received any payment or reward for the adoption
  • That the adoption proceedings in Court  should be in – camera proceedings.

 

Permission to Adopt (Hindu Law)

Under the Hindu law on adoption,(( Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) the guardian requires the Court’s permission to adopt a child, or give him up for adoption, in the following cases:(( Section 9(4), Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) 

  • where both the father and mother are dead; 
  • where both the father and mother have completely and finally renounced the world; 
  • where both the father and mother have abandoned the child; 
  • where both the father and mother have been declared to be of unsound mind by the court concerned; 
  • where the parentage of the child is not known. 

 

Appeal (Non-Religious Law and Hindu Law)

Under the non-religious law on adoption, if you are not satisfied by the orders given by the relevant authorities while adopting a child or if you adoption application has been rejected, you may appeal to the Children’s Court, within 30 days of the relevant order.(( Section 101(1), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) However, even if more than 30 days have passed, you can attempt to appeal, and it will be entertained if the Court believes you have sufficient reason for not being able to appeal within the stipulated 30 days. If you are not satisfied with the order given by the Court, you may file an appeal to the High Court of your state.(( Section 101(5), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.))