Section 3 of the Divorce Act, 1869 - Interpretation Clause
Section 3 defines important expressions used throughout the Divorce Act, 1869, including "High Court", "District Judge", "District Court", "Court", "minor children", "desertion" and "property".
What Section 3 does
The interpretation clause supplies definitions for expressions that recur in the Act. These definitions help determine the competent court, territorial jurisdiction and the meaning of certain matrimonial-law terms. The opening words, "unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context", mean that a defined expression ordinarily carries the statutory meaning unless the context requires otherwise.
Section 3 - Statutory text
3. Interpretation-clause. - In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context, -
(1) "High Court". - "High Court" means with reference to any area: -
(a) in a State, the High Court for that State;
(b) in Delhi, the High Court of Delhi;
(bb) in Himachal Pradesh, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana up to and inclusive of the 30th April, 1967 and the High Court of Delhi thereafter;
(c) in Manipur and Tripura, the High Court of Assam;
(d) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the High Court at Calcutta;
(e) in Lakshadweep, the High Court of Kerala;
(ee) in Chandigarh, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana;
and in the case of any petition under this Act, "High Court" means the High Court for the area where the husband and wife reside or last resided together;
(2) "District Judge" means a Judge of a principal civil court of original jurisdiction however designated;
(3) "District Court" means, in the case of any petition under this Act, the court of the District Judge within the local limits of whose ordinary jurisdiction, or of whose jurisdiction under this Act the marriage was solemnized or, the husband and wife reside or last resided together;
(4) "Court" means the High Court or the District Court, as the case may be;
(5) "minor children" means, in the case of sons of Native fathers, boys who have not completed the age of sixteen years, and, in the case of daughters of Native fathers, girls who have not completed the age of thirteen years; in other cases it means unmarried children who have not completed the age of eighteen years;
(6) Omitted.
(7) Omitted.
(8) "marriage with another woman" means marriage of any person, being married, to any other person, during the life of the former wife, whether the second marriage shall have taken place within India or elsewhere;
(9) "desertion" implies an abandonment against the wish of the person charging it; and
(10) "property" includes in the case of a wife, any property to which she is entitled for an estate in remainder or reversion or as a trustee, executrix or administratrix; and the date of the death of the testator or intestate shall be deemed to be the time at which any such wife becomes entitled as executrix or administratrix.
Meaning of the principal definitions
High Court - Section 3(1)
The definition identifies the High Court for an area and, for a petition under the Act, connects the expression with the High Court for the area where the husband and wife reside or last resided together. Some territorial references in the historical text reflect earlier constitutional and State arrangements. For present-day filing or jurisdiction, the statutory text must therefore be applied together with later State reorganisation legislation and the current territorial jurisdiction of the relevant High Court.
District Judge and District Court - Sections 3(2) and 3(3)
A "District Judge" is a Judge of a principal civil court of original jurisdiction, whatever the local designation. For petitions under the Act, "District Court" links jurisdiction to the District Judge whose territorial jurisdiction satisfies the conditions stated in Section 3(3), including the place where the marriage was solemnized or where the spouses reside or last resided together.
Court - Section 3(4)
The word "Court" means either the High Court or the District Court, depending on the provision and the jurisdiction applicable to the proceeding.
Minor children - Section 3(5)
Clause (5) contains the Act's historical definition of "minor children". Because the wording is old and other legislation may govern age, guardianship, custody or majority in a particular context, the applicable provision and later law should be checked before relying on this definition for a present dispute.
Omitted clauses (6) and (7)
Clauses (6) and (7) were omitted by the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act, 2001. The omission formed part of the substantial 2001 reform of the Act.
Marriage with another woman, desertion and property - Sections 3(8) to 3(10)
Clause (8) defines the expression "marriage with another woman". Clause (9) gives "desertion" the core meaning of abandonment against the wish of the person alleging it. Clause (10) gives "property", in the case of a wife, an inclusive meaning covering the interests and representative capacities expressly stated in that clause.
Amendment notes
- Clause (1) was substituted through adaptation of laws measures after constitutional and territorial changes.
- The reference to Lakshadweep reflects the alteration of the former name of the islands.
- The Chandigarh provision was inserted following Punjab reorganisation.
- Section 3(3) was amended by Act 51 of 2001 to include the place where the marriage was solemnized as a jurisdictional connection.
- Clauses (6) and (7) were omitted by Act 51 of 2001 with effect from 3 October 2001.
- The official consolidated Act records that the Divorce Act was made applicable to the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh by Notification S.O. 3912(E), dated 30 October 2019.
Related provisions
Section 3 should be read with Section 2 - Extent of Act and conditions for relief, Section 4 - Matrimonial jurisdiction of High Courts, and the substantive provisions governing the particular matrimonial relief claimed.