Divorce Act, 1869 As amended by The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

This 2024 edition of The Divorce Act, 1869 (Act 4 of 1869) reproduces the statute verbatim and consolidates the two key modern updates:

• Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019, w.e.f. 31-10-2019) — extending the Act’s territorial reach to the Union Territories of J-K and Ladakh.

• Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019 (6 of 2019, dt. 21-2-2019) — removing leprosy as a ground for divorce or judicial separation in line with contemporary equality and public-health principles.

Concise short comments follow pivotal sections—flagging the 2019 deletion of Sec. 10(iv), uniform-civil-procedure references, and recent High-Court interpretations on mental cruelty and irretrievable-breakdown—while preserving full Bare-Act integrity for examinations and authoritative citation.

Core statutory coverage

• Jurisdiction & courts — original jurisdiction of District Courts and appellate oversight of High Courts for marriages solemnised under the Christian Marriage Act, 1872.

• Grounds for divorce — adultery, desertion, conversion, cruelty, presumption of death, and post-2019 list without leprosy.

• Judicial separation & restitution of conjugal rights — discretionary reliefs and effect on inheritance.

• Nullity & legitimacy — void/voidable marriages, legitimacy of issue, and post-decree property rights.

• Alimony, maintenance & costs — interim alimony (pendente lite), permanent maintenance, and enforcement through attachment.

• Procedure & limitation — six-month cooling-off, one-year bar after marriage, and bar of collusion/connivance.

This edition is particularly suited for

• Family-court advocates & mediators handling Christian-marriage dissolution, alimony or custody disputes.

• Trial judges, District Registrars & High-Court clerks referencing authoritative text during decree drafting and appeals.

• Legal-aid clinics, church tribunals & NGOs assisting parties with petition drafting and counselling.

• AIBE candidates and law students studying personal-law, family-law and equality-before-law modules.

Exact Gazette text · pinpoint explanatory notes · zero superfluous commentary—your fastest route to clarity, authenticity and practical insight on India’s oldest statutory divorce regime.