Rate of Online Divorce in India

With the progression of time, the Indian society has undergone uncountable changes. The once cloistered society is now opening up gradually and have began accepting so called ‘taboos’ in its fold. Divorce is definitely one of them.

Marriage within Indian society has always been considered an auspicious bonding, expected to last long forever. However, with the passage of time, when Indian women began to realize their position in the society, they started raising questions. Later they were seen stepping out of the house, rubbing shoulders with their male counterparts in the work field. Once this was achieved, the women started questioning about their situation at home. The economical independence invested in them the courage to think otherwise. About a life that could exist beyond the constrains of marriage. The idea of divorce definitely worked.

The late twentieth century, moving on to the twenty-first century saw the IT revolution sweeping across India. More and more people became dependent on the internet. Gradually, the internet started dominating our lives like never before. From booking movie tickets to flight tickets, Indians, these days resort to the internet. Slowly people started considering the idea of obtaining divorce online as well.

Just as divorce started gaining acceptance in Indian society, of late the concept of online divorce also took shape gradually. To do away with the traditional Indian divorce proceedings, married Indian couples started opting for online divorce.

Earliest records of online divorce in India were carried out between a couple through video-conferencing. The husband was in the United States while the wife was residing in Delhi. Since both had to be present for the proceedings to be completed, and it was not possible for either of them, the final divorce proceedings had to be carried out through a video conference. In another instance, a Chennai court carried out an online divorce. The couple, both software engineers resided in different countries. The divorce was granted after coming to their consent over a webcam. The husband residing in the US was sent the divorce order. Same method was carried out for the wife who was working in Australia. Copies of the same were handed over to their relatives who were present at the court and the entire legal procedure was completed in fifteen minutes.

With the passage of time, the trend of online divorce is fast picking up in India. As more and more Indian couples decide to part ways, they are choosing the internet for divorce over the traditional divorce method usually followed in India. It is simple, fast and easy. The divorce proceedings in an online divorce are uncontested. Both the parties contesting for divorce should have agreed upon the terms and conditions of divorce. They should have arrived at conclusion regarding alimony, child custody and other matters pertaining to divorce and separation.

Once these things are settled, they can approach an online divorce firm and fill up the required details in a form. After this, if required a divorce counseling session is held to sort matters between the couple. Next follows is filing the divorce papers in court. The final divorce decree is granted by the court thereby putting an end to your marriage.

The rate of online divorce, though slow, is picking up in India. This trend is more visible amidst the urban couples residing in the metro cities. In the coming years, the trend is considered to gain more momentum.