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Wife refusing to sign for 2nd motion in mutual divorce. What can i do?


18-May-2023 (In Divorce Law)

What should I do if my wife is now refusing to sign the papers for the second motion of our Divorce case? We had applied for a mutual divorce. The first motion happened last year. Now, after 6 months when we were nearing the date of hearing for the second motion, her advocate stated that she will not appear for the hearing.

 

I don’t know the reason behind this decision but she is now not ready to sign on the papers. What should I do in this case?

 

Answers (2)

Answer #1
327 votes

In a Divorce by mutual consent, both the parties have the freedom to withdraw their consent as the consent cannot be taken by coercion.

However, if you and your wife had entered into a settlement agreement while filing the divorce by mutual consent whereby the amount of maintenance was mentioned and other terms and conditions of separation were enumerated, then you can initiate a contempt of court proceedings against the wife. (This has been recently allowed by the Delhi High Court). 

If acting on the settlement you have made any payment, you can file a complaint for cheating on your wife.

Alternately, the remedy available to you is to file a Divorce petition under any of the grounds mentioned under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. This would be a contested petition and may take a much longer period for you to get Divorced as compared to your current petition under Mutual grounds wherein the time taken is 6 months under normal circumstances.

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What happens if the respondent fails to appear in court for divorce?

What happens if my spouse doesnt respond to the divorce petition? The court can make a decision based on testimony from the petitioner if the respondent does not appear or do not respond.

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If you fail to appear at the second divorce motion hearing, the court will not punish you. You can sue your husband to recover the half of the alimony you received during the first divorce motion. That's all.

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A joint petition must be filed with the District Court in whose jurisdiction the wedding was solemnized, or where the last residence of both parties occurred. Both parties must be present at both the first and second motions.

  

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Answer #2
166 votes
If the wife refuses the sign the second divorce motion by mutual consent, the court will dismiss the petition. The parties can then explore other remedies like contested divorce.
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