Marriage and Divorce Law

Jurisdiction of the Courts

Hindu Marriage Act – Section 19 – Last resided together – Visits of the one spouse to another are treated temporary residence and it comes within the scope of resided together.

All the proceedings under Section 13 of the Act are instituted where the parties to marriage last resided together as envisaged under Clause (3) of Section 19 of the Act.

Their Lordships have considered the question of residence and casual visits, after examining a few authorities as this question. Their Lordships observed as under:

“The question on the subject are legion and it would be futile to survey the entire field generally stated no question goes so far as to hold that ‘resides’ in the sub-section means only domicile in the technical sense of that word. There is also a broad unanimity that it means something more than a flying visit to or a casual stay in a particular place. They agree that there shall be animus menandi or an intention to stay for a period, the length of the period depending upon the circumstances of each case. Having regard to the object sought to be achieved, the meaning implicit as the words used, and the construction placed by decision case thereupon, we would define the word ‘resides’ thus; a person resides in a place of the through choice makes it his abode permanently or even temporarily; whether a person has chosen to make a particular place his abode depends upon the facts of each case.

It was held that where both the parties to the marriage were working at two different places having their separate residential houses, both places would be fit for the residence of the spouse. If the wife would go to the husband’s place, to visit her husband, she can be deemed to be residing with him there and if the husband would go to the wife’s place, he would be deemed to be residing with his wife at her place. Such visits of the wife or of the husband can not be termed as casual or flying visits on the other hand, such visits may be termed as temporary visits by both the spouses and such temporary visits have been held to come within the meaning of the word “resides” and the word “resided” which is clearly distinguishable as these cases related to mere casual visits without any intention of living even temporarily at that particular place. District Court alone has been given exclusive jurisdiction with respect to matters covered by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 –

“Every petition under this Act shall be presented to the District Court within the local limits of whose ordinary original Civil Jurisdiction.-
(i) the marriage was solemnized, or
(ii) the respondent, at the time of presentation of the petition, resides, or
(iii) the parties to the marriage last resided together, or
(iv) the petitioner is residing at the time of presentation of the petition, in a case where the respondent is, at the time, residing outside the territories to which this Act extends, or has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of him if he were alive”.

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