Grounds on which a Muslim wife can seek a dissolution of her marriage.

A Muslim wife has several grounds on which she can seek dissolution of her marriage, primarily governed by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, in India. These grounds provide legal recourse for a wife to end her marriage under specific circumstances.

Here are the main grounds:

• • Husband's Missing Status: If the whereabouts of the husband are unknown for a period of four years, the wife can seek dissolution. This is based on the inability to maintain the marital relationship and the hardship caused by the husband's absence.
• • Husband's Failure to Maintain: If the husband fails to provide maintenance (financial support) for a period of two years, the wife can seek a divorce. This ground acknowledges the husband's fundamental duty to support his wife.
• • Husband's Imprisonment: If the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for seven years or more, the wife can seek dissolution. This recognizes the disruption caused to the marital life due to the husband's long-term incarceration.
• • Husband's Failure to Perform Marital Obligations: If the husband fails to perform his marital obligations for a period of three years, the wife can seek divorce. This ground addresses situations where the husband neglects his duties within the marriage.
• • Husband's Impotence: If the husband was impotent at the time of the marriage and continues to be so, the wife can seek dissolution. This acknowledges the wife's right to sexual fulfillment within the marriage.
• • Husband's Insanity/Leprosy/Venereal Disease: If the husband has been insane for two years, or is suffering from leprosy or a virulent venereal disease, the wife can seek divorce. These grounds recognize the health-related hardships faced by the wife.
• • Repudiation of Marriage (Option of Puberty): As discussed previously, if the wife was given in marriage before the age of fifteen and repudiated the marriage before attaining eighteen, provided the marriage was not consummated, she can seek dissolution. This is a crucial right protecting women from child marriages.
• • Cruelty: If the husband treats the wife cruelly, physically or mentally, she can seek a divorce. Cruelty can take various forms, including assault, making her life miserable, forcing her to lead an immoral life, disposing of her property, preventing her from practicing her religion, or any other act that makes it impossible for her to live with him.
• • Any other grounds recognized as valid under Muslim law: This provision allows for the recognition of other valid grounds for divorce under Muslim personal law.

It's important to note that the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, aimed to codify and clarify the rights of Muslim women, providing them with a legal framework to seek divorce under specific and justifiable circumstances. The burden of proof lies on the wife to establish the grounds for dissolution.