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Drafting II · Unit 2

Matrimonial and Family Pleadings

Unit 2 of Drafting, Pleading and Conveyancing – II (syllabus: Module II — petitions for divorce and divorce by mutual consent, applications for maintenance and custody, restitution of conjugal rights, and nullity of marriage). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.

What this unit covers

  • What paragraphs does every matrimonial petition carry, and where is it filed?
  • Why does a petition plead the section 23 negatives, and what are they?
  • How is a divorce petition on cruelty and desertion pleaded?
  • What are the two stages of a divorce by mutual consent, and what must each document say?
  • Which maintenance route should the drafter choose, and what does each one require?
  • What must an application for maintenance pendente lite contain?
  • On what footing is custody of a child claimed, and what must the petition plead?
  • How does a petition for nullity differ from a petition for restitution, and what does each turn on?

Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.

Provisions

  • Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. ss. 19, 20, 21, 21B and 22, read with Family Courts Act 1984, s. 7
  • Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. s. 23(1) and (2)
  • Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. s. 13(1)(ia) and (ib) with the Explanation, and ss. 13A, 14 and 23A
  • Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. s. 13B(1) and (2), with s. 23(1)(bb)
  • Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. ss. 24 and 25, with Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956, s. 18, and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, ss. 144-146
  • Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. s. 24 and its proviso, with s. 25
  • Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956, s. s. 6 proviso and s. 13, with Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. 26 and Guardians and Wards Act 1890, ss. 7, 9, 10, 12, 17 and 25
  • Hindu Marriage Act 1955, s. ss. 9, 11, 12(1) and 12(2), read with s. 5

Leading cases

Exam questions on this unit

In this paper