Restitution of Conjugal Rights

• deserted or abandoned you willingly, or
• lives separately without any reasonable excuse, or
• denies you his/her company, or
• does not stay with you for a reasonable amount of time,

• Hindu - Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
• Muslim - Section 32 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869
• Christianity - Section 33 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869
• Parsi - Section 36 of the Paris Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936

• If your spouse has a reasonable ground for abandoning you like-

• Completing studies or
• Due to transfer in service

• If your spouse has a ground for divorce
• If you are guilty of any matrimonial misconduct;
• If you are guilty of any conduct which makes it impossible for your spouse to live with you. For e.g. - You neglect your wife or You constantly demand for dowry.

• File a petition of restitution of conjugal rights at the district family court where you and your spouse were residing after marriage.
• Send a copy of the petition to your spouse with a hearing date, fixed by the court.
• Both you and your spouse must be present in the court on the date of hearing as decided by the court; otherwise the Court can pass an ex parte decree (order passed against the spouse who is absent).
• The court often sends the spouses for court counseling which approximately takes a time of 4 months.
• Further the judge listens to both the sides, and takes considerations from your counseling sessions, and after being satisfied grant restitution for conjugal rights to the spouses.

Related Law Guides

• Basis on which your divorce petition can be rejected
• How to get a stay order on a divorce decree?