Section 14 Divorce Act 1869 - Power of Court to Pronounce Decree for Dissolving Marriage
Section 14 of the Divorce Act, 1869 deals with the Court's power to pronounce a decree dissolving a marriage after the petitioner's case is proved, subject to the statutory safeguards and discretionary grounds stated in the section.
What Section 14 provides
Section 14 operates at the stage when the Court considers whether a decree of dissolution should be pronounced. The Court must first be satisfied on the evidence that the petitioner's case has been proved. The provision also requires the Court to consider whether the petitioner was accessory to or connived at the relevant conduct, whether adultery was condoned, and whether the petition was presented or prosecuted in collusion with a respondent.
Section 14 - statutory text
In case the Court is satisfied on the evidence that the case of the petitioner has been proved, and does not find that the petitioner has been in any manner accessory to, or conniving at, the going through of the said form of marriage, or the adultery of the other party to the marriage, or has condoned the adultery complained of, or that the petition is presented or prosecuted in collusion with either of the respondents, the Court shall pronounce a decree declaring such marriage to be dissolved.
Provided that the Court shall not be bound to pronounce such decree if it finds that the petitioner has, during the marriage, been guilty of adultery, or if the petitioner has, in the opinion of the Court, been guilty of unreasonable delay in presenting or prosecuting such petition, or of cruelty towards the other party to the marriage, or of having deserted or wilfully separated himself or herself from the other party before the adultery complained of, and without reasonable excuse, or of such wilful neglect or misconduct of or towards the other party as has conduced to the adultery.
Condonation. No adultery shall be deemed to have been condoned within the meaning of this Act unless conjugal cohabitation has been resumed or continued.
Conditions considered before a decree is pronounced
- Proof of the petitioner's case: the Court must be satisfied on the evidence that the case has been established.
- No accessory conduct or connivance: the Court considers whether the petitioner was accessory to or connived at the conduct referred to in the section.
- No condonation of adultery: the section treats resumed or continued conjugal cohabitation as relevant to condonation.
- No collusion: the petition must not have been presented or prosecuted in collusion with a respondent.
When the Court is not bound to grant the decree
The proviso preserves judicial discretion even where the principal requirements are otherwise satisfied. The Court is not bound to pronounce a decree if it finds specified conduct on the part of the petitioner, including adultery, unreasonable delay in presenting or prosecuting the petition, cruelty, desertion or wilful separation in the circumstances described by the section, or wilful neglect or misconduct that contributed to the adultery.
Meaning of condonation under Section 14
For the purpose of this provision, adultery is not treated as condoned unless conjugal cohabitation has been resumed or continued. The statutory explanation therefore connects condonation with the resumption or continuation of marital cohabitation rather than merely with an informal expression of forgiveness.
2001 amendment to Section 14
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001 (Act 51 of 2001), with effect from 3 October 2001, omitted the words that formerly made the declaration of dissolution expressly subject to the provisions and limitations referred to in Sections 16 and 17. The present text should therefore be read without the omitted wording.
Related provisions
Section 14 should be read in its statutory setting with Section 12 on absence of collusion, Section 13 on dismissal of petition, and Section 15 on relief in case of opposition on certain grounds. The Act's broader scheme and the precise relief available depend on the pleadings, evidence and applicable provisions.
Official text
For authoritative verification, refer to the current central Act text published on India Code, the Government of India's official legislation database.
India Code - The Divorce Act, 1869 (official PDF)