Indian Divorce Act, 1869

3. Interpretation clause

In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,-

"High Court" - ⁷[(1) "High Court" means with reference to any area,-

(a) in a State, the High Court for that State,

⁸ [(b) in Delhi , the High Court of Delhi;

[(bb) Omitted]

(c) in Manipur and Tripura, the High Court of Assam;

(d) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands , the High Court of Calcutta ;

(e) in ⁹[ Lakshadweep ], the High Court of Kerala;

¹⁰ [(ee) in Chandigarh , the High Court of Punjab and Haryana;]

and in the case of any petition under this Act, "High Court" means the High Court for the area where the husband and wife reside or last resided together;]]

"District Judge" -¹¹[(2) "District Judge" means a Judge of a principal civil court of original jurisdiction however designated;]

"District Court" -(3) "District Court" means, in the case of any petition under this Act, the Court of the District Judge within the local limits of whose ordinary jurisdiction, or of whose jurisdiction under this Act, the husband and wife reside or last resided together;

"Court" -(4) "Court" means the High Court or the District Court, as the case may be;

"Minor Children" -(5) "minor children" means, in the case of sons of native fathers, boys, who have not completed the age of sixteen years, and, in the case of daughters of native fathers, girls who have not completed the age of thirteen years; in other cases it means unmarried children who have not completed the age of eighteen years;

"Incestuous adultery" -(6) "incestuous adultery" means adultery committed by a husband with a woman with whom, if his wife were dead, he could not lawfully contract marriage by reason of her being within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity (whether natural or legal) or affinity;

"Bigamy with adultery" -(7) "bigamy with adultery" means adultery with the same woman with whom the bigamy was committed;

"Marriage with another woman" -(8) "marriage with another woman" means marriage of any person, being married, to any other person, during the life of the former wife, whether the second marriage shall have taken place within ¹²[ India ] or elsewhere;

"Desertion" -(9) "desertion" implies an abandonment against the wish of the person charging it; and

"Property" -(10) "property" includes in the case of a wife, any property to which she is entitled for an estate in remainder or reversion or as a trustee, executrix or administratrix; and the date of the death of the testator or intestate shall be deemed to be the time at which any such wife becomes entitled as executrix or administratrix.

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