• Contested divorce

I am married and have decided to divorce my husband due to many differences. I decided to divorce him without any alimony as I want him to leave me peacefully however I am waiting for someone. I met my college friend after years and fell in love.

He was also going through an abusive marriage hence we decided to give life another chance & get married. So we decided that he'll take divorce 1st and then I will take divorce before getting married to him lawfully.

However his abusive wife is not agreeing to divorce him mutually even when he agreed to give her a lot in terms of alimony and child maintenance.

So he has now decided to go for contested divorce on the ground of cruelty.

My friend and I never had sex, we met in front of people two times only after so many years, so there is no evidence of sexual relationship between us because we never had sex and our love for each other is purely emotional , we are in touch only through WhatsApp, we don't even meet each other and we know that we shouldn't cross the limit before marriage or before our divorce.

We met only twice in last 1.5 years - once when my husband and his office colleagues/friends were at my place for house warming & we both invited my friend as well. And 2nd time, me and my friend planned for a lunch with another common friend but he didn't came up and we had to do the lunch at a crowded restaurant. Since then, his wife fought with him blaming that he loves me but he never agreed rather he asked his wife to also cross check with the common friend whether he was supposed to come too.

Since then his wife just doubts but doesn't have any evidence of any sexual act between us, because honestly we never had sex.

My questions are -

1. Just on the basis of doubt, can his wife drag me to court by sending summon at my home because my friend never told his wife that he love me?

2. I stay in a different state & their divorce in another state within India, will I really have to accept the summon & appear in the court of the other state?

3. If his wife can't drag me to court legally, but I am worried if she contacts my husband via social media just to cause issues in my marriage because she just doubts without any evidence, what should I do?
Asked 3 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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13 Answers

She has no right to drag you in court. Moreover, adultery is not an offence anymore so it is not a criminal offence. It can only become a ground for divorce but she doesn't want to let him go.

She cannot call you through court. 

If she does that then it would be easy for you to get out of your marriage. Although your friend should also divorce her on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.

Rahul Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
14083 Answers
65 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. On the basis of only doubt, she can't drag you to Court.

2.  If you receive summons from the Court, you have to accept the summons and appear in the court of a different City or else Court may issue warrant against you.

3.  Better to tell your husband before hand so that even if she contacts your husband, he may brush it aside.

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5068 Answers
314 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

She can file for divorce on grounds of adultery but if she is unable to prove allegations petition would be dismissed 

 

2) it is better you engage a lawyer and contest false case filed 

 

3) you can file case of criminal defamation against his wife under section 500 of IPC 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Adultery is one of the grounds for divorce. Mere doubts are not evidence if she is unable to prove the allegations the her petition would be dismissed  .If you get summons then engage a lawyer and contest the case .She could not drag the case. Divorce allows a person to break free from an onerous marital relationship. But since marriage is not merely a contract but a very important societal institution. The law has an interest in protecting marriage, and not allowing it to be severed only by choice and on ordinary wear and tear.  Since society in countries like ours takes special interest in protecting it – In our country to get a divorce one needs to prove certain grounds for eg : Adultery / Cruelty / Desertion / Conversion to another religion / Mental Disorder / Leprosy / Venereal Disease / Renunciation / Not Heard Alive / No Resumption of Co-habitation. etc.  Known as matrimonial offences.

In case of adultery direct proof is difficult to get and one has to rely for proof thereof on circumstantial evidence and the same may be sufficiently proved from which adultery maybe inferred. The burden of proving adultery in a matrimonial case is on the person who makes the allegation.

Ajay N S
Advocate, Ernakulam
4072 Answers
110 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

She can allege adultery but that would not help her ad adultery is a ground for divorce and if she doesn't want to separate from him then why would she raise that!

Even if she raises that issue still you cannot be called to testify.

She levelled the allegations and she has to furnish proof independent of the people involved.

Rahul Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
14083 Answers
65 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

She can file for divorce make you co respondent in divorce case to harass you 

 

2) you can engage a lawyer to appear on your behalf 

 

3) your personal appearance would not be necessary except during trial 

 

4) you can give evidence denying that you had physical relationship with her husband 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. To  drag someone in court no cincrete evidence is required.  Doubt is enough. 

2. Yes but such scope is little. 

3. You can't stop two adults from communicating in a social media. 

Don't worry.  Even if you receive the summons you don't need to visit court physically regularly. 

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
22779 Answers
484 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Dear Madam,

1. No mere basis of doubt is never enough to prove any case adultery. There must be solid proof of the same

2. No, you shall not be called for their personal divorce proceedings

3. It is best you inform you keep your husband informed about the same. It is even better if you can keep proofs of how his wife is simply threatening you (this can be considered a ground of criminal intimidation). This way you will avoid trouble

Thank you

 

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
8742 Answers
109 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

Dear Madam,My answers are as follows: 

1.     Just on the basis of doubt, can his wife drag me to court by sending summon at my home because my friend never told his wife that he love me?

Ans: Now, adultery by married women is not punishable and she cannot file any case against you at the most she can claim divorce with her husband on that ground.  

 

2.     I stay in a different state & their divorce in another state within India, will I really have to accept the summon & appear in the court of the other state?

Ans: You need not bother about this if any false case is registered then appoint local advocate and who will manage the things.  

 

3.     If his wife can't drag me to court legally, but I am worried if she contacts my husband via social media just to cause issues in my marriage because she just doubts without any evidence, what should I do?

Ans: That can be done but you must deny everything.  

 

4.     @Ajay Sir, I understand that because my friend has filed for a contested divorce on the ground of cruelty, though she is abusive and doesn't want to leave him, she can also do counter allegation by raising ground of adultery. But as me & my friend never had any physical relationship and neither he accepted his feelings for me, can she still drag me to court under this adultery charge on my friend & send summon to my home? And if the summon comes to my place, do I have to appear on court which is in a different state? Is there any way I can avoid she / court contacting me or my husband?

Ans: You can avoid if you are summoned as a witness.

Kishan Dutt Kalaskar
Advocate, Bangalore
6135 Answers
483 Consultations

4.8 on 5.0

1. Supreme court declared that , when  a man and a woman in love live together , is part of the right to life and not a criminal offence, and further live-in relationships is legal in India.

- Hence even if there is relationship , then also she cannot take any legal action against you , except to file a contested divorce case against her husband . 

2. Only she can make you a party in the divorce case , and no case maintainable for having any affair with her husband. 

3. Similarly , you husband can also make the extra-marital affair a ground for divorce and nothing .

- Doubt is not admissible in evidence in the lack of property proofs of evidence. 

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
13105 Answers
195 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

No offence made out against you.

You’ll never be made a party to that couples dispute/court case.

thus, you’ll not be called to court. Stay assured 

Vibhanshu Srivastava
Advocate, Lucknow
9588 Answers
303 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. If at all your friend's wife is suspecting him for the acts of adultery, she can initiate divorce proceedings against him.

She cannot initiate any action by criminal law against her husband itself, hence she has no rights to drag you into court or even issue a legal notice in this regard.

If she is trying to do any such mischief, you may issue her a defamation notice and can file a defamation suit against her for compensation towards the damages she has caused you by such imputations.

2. She cannot summon you nor she can implicate you in the divorce proceedings that she may institute against her husband  because she has no documentary evidence to prove the acts of adultery against her husband.

3. Your worries are unnecessary, she cannot take any legal action against you for any reason.

However she cannot be prevented from informing your husband if she is planning to avenge you for this suspicion on both of you.

You may have to convince your husband accordingly.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

The counter allegations for the acts of adultery cannot be made just like that without any evidence.

It will prove disaster to her if a defamation case is filed against her for this reason.

The court will not accept her petition seeking to make a counter allegation without any substantial documentary evidence to prove her allegations, moreover he has filed the divorce case which is being opposed by her hence there is no question of making such allegations  because she is not willing to accept his divorce case, hence she cannot make such allegations which will hamper her defence or will make her case fatal.

So you need not worry about any such summons, the court will not entertain such vague allegations/.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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