• Divorce

My wife and I have been married since 28Oct2012. We got married married in Vishakapatnam and the marriage is registered in the same city under Hindu Marriage Act. We moved to US. My wife left the house on July 2015 and eventually moved to India in Jan2016. I am still in US. I would like to process the divorce. But she doesn't respond to my calls and emails. I am fairly certain that she does not want to live with me. But she is simple-minded and does not realize that a divorce can help both of us move on. 
1. She does not live with family and does not have an address. How do I send her the divorce papers
2. Though we got married in Visakapatnam and though I am guessing that she stays in some ladies hostel in Vishakapatnam, I do not know her exact address. I am from Trichy, Tamilnadu and currently reside in in US. So where can I file the divorce?
3. If I or the court is not able to reach her, will I ever get a divorce and I so, how long does it take
Please help

Thanks,
Hari
Asked 8 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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12 Answers

1) you can file for divorce in vishakapatnam where your marriage was solemnised

2) if you file for divorce in USA and wife does not participate divorce decree would not be valid in india .

3) for divorce to be valid in India it should b on grounds recognised by HMA

4) you will have to find out your wife address . you can seek to serve her at her parents address .

5) if you are unable to serve her apply for substituted service ie by paper publication in 2 local newspapers

6) if wife does not contest divorce proceedings in India you would get divorce in 1 yer

7) contested divorce cases take 5 years to b e disposed of

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7486 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. Based on her telephone numbers, you can find out her address from the service provider and the same address can be used to deliver the divorce papers.

2. In the alternative you can hire a detective agency to track down her address in India.

3. Since the marriage took place in Vishakapatnam, you can file for divorce there itself and that too because you are guessing that your wife is also staying in Vishakapatnam. If the couple had resided in Trichy, then there also the divorce case can be filed or in U.S.A.

4. She can be reached for delivering the notices and if you can convince your wife to agree for Mutual Consent Divorce wherein the divorce decree may be obtained by saving time, effort and money unlike contested divorce process where the case lags for at least 1.5 to 2 years and beyond. MCD is similar to 'No fault divorce' prevailing in U.S.A.

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5068 Answers
314 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

her address is necessary for service of summon. you can file divorce case at trichi because she had been living there. without her address case shall not be proceed. you cannot file case in USA because she is not there.

you can give her last known address but until summon is served and submission of her written statement no further step shall be taken by the court.

Shivendra Pratap Singh
Advocate, Lucknow
5127 Answers
78 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

1. She does not live with family and does not have an address. How do I send her the divorce papers

==You have to go to India and then file divorce petition under the ground of cruelty. You cannot send divorce papers from US. If she give her consent, you will get divorce in 6 to 8 months. If she did not give her consent and ready to contest the case, it may take 3 to 4 years. And that too there is no guarantee that you will get divorce. You have to give the court strong proofs of cruelty. You have not mentioned that whether consumation (sexual union) between you or not. If there is no consumation, the chances of getting divorce are more.

2. Though we got married in Visakapatnam and though I am guessing that she stays in some ladies hostel in Vishakapatnam, I do not know her exact address. I am from Trichy, Tamilnadu and currently reside in in US. So where can I file the divorce?

==You have to find out her address, it is your responsibility. You can hire registered detective for that purpose.

3. If I or the court is not able to reach her, will I ever get a divorce and I so, how long does it take

Please help

==Already answered.

Ravinder Pasula
Advocate, Hyderabad
400 Answers
125 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi

you should file the case in Vishakapatnam / trichy (assuming it was your last matrimonial home).

All you need to know is her last known address in india(passport address may help).

We can get the courts to issue substituted summons(through paper advertisements) in the locality where she is known to be living. You not knowing her current address is not an issue at all.

If inspite of substituted summons, she is not reachable, then you will get an ex-parte divorce decree.

Hope this helps.

Rajgopalan Sripathi
Advocate, Hyderabad
2173 Answers
394 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. You can send the notice/papers of divorce to her last known address,

2. You can file Divorce suit at USA or in India after coming here while filing the suit and leaving the follow up works to your POA holder,

3. If she is not traceable, the notice/summons is to be published in two local Newspapers, one in English and the other being in Vernacular. Such publication is treated as good service by Indian Courts. If she still fails or refuses to attend the Court, the matter will be decided ex-parte and order will be passed accordingly.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

If you are planning to file a divorce in US and expecting to get an exparte divorce in US, please be aware that such divorce is not valid in India.

Instead, if your marriage took place in Trichy, you may file a divorce petition in Trichy family court and send the summons to her last known address,let it return undelivered and the court decide the case in her absence and grant exparte divorce, you can be relieved by such a judgment

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. Unless you are certain that she is ready for MCD no purpose will be achieved by sending her the MOU. You are free to apply for dissolution of marriage on your own accord if there is a legal ground to do that. Prima facie, from your statement there does not appear to be any legal ground on which you may file for contested dissolution.

2. Her address is inevitably required,

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. To file for divorce you require her address where the notices will be sent to her. Even ex parte will not be ordered unless the address has been filed.

2. To get ex parte it may take around 6-8 months.

3. The divorce granted by the court can be challenged in High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at Hyderabad. It cannot be challenged in US.

4. You are not required to be in India if you can sign the petition while being in US and sent it to your lawyer in India.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1) exparte divorce is valid . if inspite of service wife does not appear court can grant you exparte divorce

2) it would take around a year for exparte divorce

3) wife can file an appeal against divorce granted by family court

4) your lawyer can send you petition for filing contested divorce for your signature . have it attested before indian consulate . you can execute POA in favour of relative to attend court on your behalf

5) you will have to come to India during trial

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7486 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. Why some STRONGLY feel that I need to find her to get a divorce and others suggest an Ex Parte divorce is very well possible, if she doesn't respond. I do not have any problems with her other than the fact that it is she who does not want to be together anymore. But she simply doesn't respond to my calls or emails. I prefer not to wait for her to cooperate

If she is not responsive to your efforts or not traceable (went into hiding intentionally), you may better choose the option of substitute service of summons by publishing the same in the local popular newspaper of single or both the languages. First you get an exparte divorce, let she become aware of the ex parte dissolution of the marriage,decide about setting aside of the same and contest the divorce case accordingly.

2. If the court grants the divorce in Visakapatnam, can she at a later stage dispute the divorce either in Andhra or any any other city or state in India or in US. I do not foresee my wife doing that as it is she who does not want to be together. But I just want to be informed for the worst case.

If the Vishakpatnam court grants divorce, she can prefer an appeal before the Andhra Pradesh high court only and not in any other place or city. If it is an exparte divorce, she has to file in the same court for setting it aside. She cannot contest this case in US or any other place.

2. Is this ex parte divorce a common practice, if the other party does not respond to notices. How long does it take for this entire process? And how successful is this kind of approach

There is no question of common practice, it is procedure on such situation for relief sought.

3. Do I need to be there in India to start the process? I just came back from India in Feb. Is there a way to start the process with a POA signed here in front of a notary. I can come towards the end of this year

If you have not already started the process of divorce case in India and are proposing to dissolve your marriage by a decree of divorce through court, you may have to be present in India at least at the time of filing the case and can continue the same with a POA agent after that.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. There is a procedure for serving notice. You are supposed to serve her the notice at her present address. If her present address is not known then you are supposed to serve the notice to her last known address. If she still does not get the notice, you shall have to publish the notice in two newspapers, one in English and another in Vernacular, so that all possible efforts serve her the said notice is taken. Under no circumstances, the duty to trace the opposite side at any cost falls on the complainant,

2. Ex-Parte divorce can not be a common practice. Ex-Parte order is passed when the other side fails/neglects or refuses to attend te Court hearing. In the instant case, it is accepted that the opposite side has been notified by following the laid down procedure and after being notified about the case, she has failed/neglected or refused to attend the case. For the said non attendance after being notified, Ex-Parte hearing will be conducted or ex-parte order will be passed. It is not an approach. It is the procedure of serving notice,

3. Once decree of divorce is issued, she can file an appleal before the appellate Court challenging the decree of the Court lower within the limitation period being 3 months. After that her appeal will be time bared. She cannot challenge the said decree issued by Indian court before US Court,

4. No. For filing divorce suit, you shall have to be personally present in India and after the case is filed, your POA holder can follow up the case for you.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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