seeking divorce

Dear Client,
A person can restart his or her life afresh at any stage or age if she or he is inspired or encouraged to do so by well-wishers. If you feel you can manage yourself outside without the support of others for all your needs, nothing prevents or restricts you from walking out of your toxic marital home to look for the destiny of your choice. So, you need to arrange for an independent source of income to live your life on your terms. In the prevailing situation, you have the following legal remedies to resolve the crisis. 1) You can file a complaint against your husband and his other family members who subjected you to domestic violence at the local police station under Sec.12 of the PWDV Act, 2005. Under Section 12(1) of the DV Act, an aggrieved person or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person may present an application directly to the Magistrate seeking one or more reliefs under this Act that include the right to reside in the shared household, prohibitory order and residence order. Even, Magistrates are empowered to issue maintenance orders under Section 20(1)(d) of the D V Act. 2) You may consider judicial separation or divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty to resolve the matter permanently. Either spouse can obtain a decree of divorce if one spouse has treated the other with cruelty. Section 13 (1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, allows either spouse to seek divorce on the grounds of cruelty. If there is no possibility and no scope of mutual consent divorce, you can file a one-sided/contested divorce petition before the Family Court/District Court where the couple last lived together, such as their marital home, where the marriage was solemnized, or where the wife currently resides praying for a decree of divorce and seeking maintenance or alimony from the husband. The party seeking divorce can submit audio, video, or written evidence to prove his or her claim. As regards maintenance post-divorce, be informed that both under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and under Section 125 Cr. PC(Section 144 of BNSS), any person having sufficient means is liable to support his wife and children, provided she is unable to maintain herself and her children. The courts have held that the husband's income, as well as his assets and properties, can be taken into consideration while determining the maintenance amount. The courts have also held that maintenance can be granted to the wife even if she is living separately from her husband due to his ill-treatment or other reasons. If maintenance is paid monthly, the Supreme Court of India has established a benchmark value of 25% of the husband's net monthly earnings to be awarded to the wife. To enforce maintenance orders court can issue various orders, including attachment of the salary or property of the husband. Non-compliance can also lead to imprisonment, as per Section 125(3) of the Cr. PC. Under Section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, the custody of a child below 5 years of age is given to the mother. As per the Guardians and Wards Act 1890, once a child achieves the age of 9 years in India, his/her preference for custody is considered by the Court based on the best interest standard, and the well-being of the child on appeal seeking custody of a child by either parent. If you are not financially sound enough to continue with litigation expenses, you can apply to the Member Secretary, State Legal Services Authority, or the District. Legal Services Authority seeking free legal services available to women under Section 12(c) of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987, to contest the cases in the Court for appropriate relief. Apart from this, you can make a complaint online (https://nhrc.nic.in/complaints/complaints/how-to-file-a-complaints) to the Chairperson, the National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi and the State Human Rights Commission along with the Chairperson, National Commission for Women and State Commission for Women who are empowered to investigate complaints related to issues faced by women in distress by sending an email to ncw@nic.in or filing an online complaint.