Section 11 of the Divorce Act, 1869: Adulterer or Adulteress to Be Co-Respondent
Section 11 of the Divorce Act, 1869 deals with a procedural requirement in a petition for dissolution of marriage founded on adultery. Ordinarily, the person alleged to have committed adultery with the respondent spouse must also be joined as a co-respondent. The Court may excuse this requirement in the situations specified in the section.
Text and meaning of Section 11
Section 11 - Adulterer or adulteress to be co-respondent.
Where a husband or wife seeks dissolution of marriage on the ground of adultery, the alleged adulterer or adulteress is to be made a co-respondent, unless the Court excuses the petitioner from doing so on one of the statutory grounds.
The grounds for dispensing with joinder are: (a) the respondent wife is leading the life of a prostitute, or the respondent husband is leading an immoral life, and the petitioner knows of no person with whom adultery was committed; (b) despite due efforts, the petitioner does not know the name of the alleged adulterer or adulteress; or (c) the alleged adulterer or adulteress is dead.
What is a co-respondent?
A co-respondent is an additional respondent joined to the matrimonial proceeding because adultery is alleged between that person and the respondent spouse. Under Section 11, joinder is the general rule when dissolution is sought on the ground of adultery, subject to the Court's power to excuse joinder on the grounds expressly stated in the section.
When can the Court excuse joinder?
- No identifiable person: the circumstances described in clause (a) exist and the petitioner knows of no person with whom the adultery was committed.
- Name unknown despite due efforts: the petitioner has made due efforts to discover the identity but the alleged adulterer or adulteress remains unknown.
- Person is dead: the alleged adulterer or adulteress has died.
Because the section states specific exceptions, a petitioner seeking exemption should place the relevant facts before the Court and seek an order dispensing with the requirement to implead the alleged adulterer or adulteress.
Relationship with other provisions of the Divorce Act
Section 10 contains the grounds on which a petition for dissolution of marriage may be presented. Where adultery is relied upon, Section 11 addresses the joinder of the alleged adulterer or adulteress. Section 12 then requires the Court, in a dissolution proceeding, to satisfy itself as far as reasonably possible regarding the relevant facts and specified matters including collusion and related conduct.
2001 amendment to Section 11
The present Section 11 was substituted by the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act, 2001. The amendment modernised several provisions of the principal Act and, among other changes, replaced the earlier Section 11 with the present gender-neutral formulation referring to a petition presented by a husband or wife and to an alleged adulterer or adulteress.
Official legal source
For the authoritative statutory text and amendment notes, refer to the Government of India publication of the Divorce Act, 1869.
Official text: The Divorce Act, 1869 - India Code
Note: This page provides general legal information about Section 11. Application of the provision depends on the pleadings, facts and orders of the competent Court.