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    Restitution of Conjugal Rights

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    Ankit Mudgil
    Under Hindu marriage law, if either spouse withdraws from living with the other without reasonable cause, the abandoned spouse can seek restitution of conjugal rights through a court. [1] A petition for restitution of conjugal rights is only valid if there was a legal marriage. [2] While section 9 was challenged as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court upheld it, observing that privacy in marriage is not covered by rights to life or equality. [3]

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    Restitution of Conjugal Rights

    Uploaded by

    Ankit Mudgil
    462 views2 pages
    Under Hindu marriage law, if either spouse withdraws from living with the other without reasonable cause, the abandoned spouse can seek restitution of conjugal rights through a court. [1] A petition for restitution of conjugal rights is only valid if there was a legal marriage. [2] While section 9 was challenged as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court upheld it, observing that privacy in marriage is not covered by rights to life or equality. [3]

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    Under Hindu marriage law, if either spouse withdraws from living with the other without reasonable cause, the abandoned spouse can seek restitution of conjugal rights through a court. [1] A petition for restitution of conjugal rights is only valid if there was a legal marriage. [2] While section 9 was challenged as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court upheld it, observing that privacy in marriage is not covered by rights to life or equality. [3]

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    462 views2 pages

    Restitution of Conjugal Rights

    Uploaded by

    Ankit Mudgil
    Under Hindu marriage law, if either spouse withdraws from living with the other without reasonable cause, the abandoned spouse can seek restitution of conjugal rights through a court. [1] A petition for restitution of conjugal rights is only valid if there was a legal marriage. [2] While section 9 was challenged as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court upheld it, observing that privacy in marriage is not covered by rights to life or equality. [3]

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    LAW AREA NAME : WOMAN

    SECTION NAME : HINDU MARRIAGE LAW


    SUB SECTION NAME : RESTITUTION OF CONJUGAL RIGHTS

    LAW IN BRIEF… ………………………… ………

    When two people are married, they owe obligations to each other. They must give each
    other company. There must be cohabitation between them. When either of them fail to
    fulfill such obligations or refuse to cohabit, the other person has right to seek restitution
    of conjugal rights in a court of law.

    LAW IN DETAIL………………………….……………….……… …………… ……

    When either of the spouses has withdrawn from the society of the other without
    reasonable cause, the other person may file a suit for restitution of conjugal rights under
    section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

    A petition for restitution of conjugal rights is maintainable only when there is a valid
    marriage. In Ranjana kejriwal v.Vinod Kumar Kejriwal (AIR 1997 Bom 380), the
    petitioner wife alleged that the husband was already married and had suppressed the fact
    from her. The Court held that the petition for restitution of conjugal rights is not
    maintainable since there is no legal marriage.

    Section 9 was challenged before the court as being violative of Article 21 of the
    Constitution of India in T.Sareetha v. T.Venkata Subbaiah (AIR 1983 AP 356). Justice
    P.A.Choudhary of the A.P.High Court held the section ultra vires since it offended
    Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

    However, it was overruled by the Supreme Court in Saroj Rani v. Sudarshan Kumar
    Chadha (AIR 1984 SC 1562). The court observed that, the object of the section is to bring
    about cohabitation between estranged parties so that they can live together. That in the
    privacy of home and married life neither Article 21 nor Article 14 has any place.

    PROCESS FOR SOLUTION……………………………….………… ………………

    Complaint Under which Section ? …………………………… … ……………

    Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

    Whom to complain / where to complaint? ……………….. ……………………


    The civil court in whose local limits,

    - The marriage was solemnized or


    - The husband and wife reside together or
    - The husband and wife last resided.
    How to file the Case ? ………………………… ………………... ………… ……

    The aggrieved party may apply to the district court by way of petition for restitution of
    conjugal rights.

    The person seeking restitution must establish that:

    a) The other spouse has withdrawn from his or her society;


    b) Such withdrawal is without reasonable excuse;
    c) There is no legal ground disentitling the petitioner from the relief of restitution of
    conjugal rights.

    The burden of proof lies on the person who has withdrawn from the society of his/her
    spouse to prove that he/she had reasonable cause to withdraw from the society of his/her
    spouse.

    The person who has withdrawn from the society of his/her spouse may prove that it has
    become impossible to live with the spouse. Persistent demand for dowry or causing
    physical and mental torture was held to be a reasonable cause for the wife to withdraw
    form the society of the husband in Vijay Kumar v. Suman (1996) 1 HLR 24 (P&H)

    The court will satisfy itself about the truth of the statements made in the petition and also
    that there is no legal ground for not granting the decree of restitution of conjugal rights.
    The decree is then accordingly granted.

    What Next ? …………………………..………………………... …… ………………

    The decree of restitution of conjugal rights will be executed as per the Civil Procedure
    Code. Appeal may be made to the High Court challenging the lower court order.

    ALTERNATE REMEDIES………………………………………..………………… …

    The Legal Services Authority may be approached for legal aid.

    Any voluntary organization may also be approached for support.

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