Section 10 of the Divorce Act, 1869: Grounds for Dissolution of Marriage

Section 10 of the Divorce Act, 1869 (Act 4 of 1869) specifies the grounds on which a husband or wife may petition for dissolution of a marriage governed by the Act. It covers adultery, conversion, cruelty, desertion and other expressly defined circumstances. Sub-section (2) provides an additional ground available to a wife.

Meaning and scope of Section 10

Under Section 10(1), either spouse may present a petition to the District Court seeking dissolution of a marriage solemnized before or after the commencement of the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act, 2001. The petitioner must establish at least one applicable statutory ground arising since solemnization of the marriage. The 2001 amendment substituted Section 10 with effect from 3 October 2001.

Grounds under Section 10(1)

The following are the grounds specified in Section 10(1), with their statutory clause numbers preserved:

1. Clause (i) - Adultery: The respondent has committed adultery after solemnization of the marriage.
2. Clause (ii) - Conversion: The respondent has ceased to be Christian by conversion to another religion.
3. Clause (iii) - Unsoundness of mind: The respondent has been incurably of unsound mind for a continuous period of at least two years immediately before presentation of the petition. The precise statutory requirements must be established by evidence.
5. Clause (v) - Communicable venereal disease: The respondent has suffered from venereal disease in a communicable form for at least two years immediately before the petition.
6. Clause (vi) - Not heard of as alive: The respondent has not been heard of as alive for seven years or more by persons who would naturally have heard of the respondent if alive.
7. Clause (vii) - Wilful refusal to consummate: The respondent has wilfully refused to consummate the marriage, and the marriage has consequently not been consummated.
8. Clause (viii) - Non-compliance with restitution decree: The respondent has failed to comply with a decree for restitution of conjugal rights for two years or more after the decree was passed against the respondent.
9. Clause (ix) - Desertion: The respondent has deserted the petitioner for at least two years immediately before presentation of the petition.
10. Clause (x) - Cruelty: The respondent has treated the petitioner with such cruelty that the petitioner reasonably apprehends it would be harmful or injurious to live with the respondent.

Clause (iv): Omitted by the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019. Its number is deliberately not reused above.

Additional ground for a wife: Section 10(2)

Section 10(2) additionally permits a wife to petition for dissolution where, since solemnization of the marriage, her husband has been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality. This is a distinct statutory ground in addition to the grounds available to either spouse under Section 10(1).

Petition, evidence and judicial scrutiny

A divorce under Section 10 is not automatic. A petition must be presented to the competent District Court and the alleged ground proved. The court must consider the evidence and the other applicable provisions of the Act, including Section 12 (absence of collusion), Section 13 (dismissal of petition), Section 14 (power to pronounce a decree and condonation), and the procedural requirements applicable to the case. A statutory minimum period stated for a particular ground must ordinarily have elapsed before the petition is filed.

Section 10 concerns contested dissolution on specified grounds. Mutual-consent divorce is addressed separately in Section 10A of the Divorce Act, 1869, subject to its text and applicable judicial interpretation.

Legislative amendments

Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act, 2001

Section 5 of Act 51 of 2001 substituted Section 10 with effect from 3 October 2001, setting out the grounds on which either spouse may seek dissolution and the additional ground available to a wife.

Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019

Section 2 of Act 6 of 2019 omitted Section 10(1)(iv), which previously referred to a virulent and incurable form of leprosy. The omission took effect on 1 March 2019.

Official statutory references

For the authoritative wording, amendments and related provisions, consult the Divorce Act, 1869 - India Code (official PDF) and the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019 (official text). The statutory wording governs in the event of any difference from this explanatory article.

Updated: 7 October 2026. This article provides general legal information and is not a substitute for case-specific legal advice.