1[19. Court to which petition shall be presented.—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 the presentation of the petition, resides, or
(iii) the parties to the marriage last resided together, or
2[(iiia) in case the wife is the petitioner, where she is residing on the date of presentation of the petition; or]
(iv) the petitioner is residing at the time of the presentation of the petition, in a case where the respondent is at that 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.]
(i) the marriage was solemnized, or
(ii) the respondent, at the time of the presentation of the petition, resides, or
(iii) the parties to the marriage last resided together, or
2[(iiia) in case the wife is the petitioner, where she is residing on the date of presentation of the petition; or]
(iv) the petitioner is residing at the time of the presentation of the petition, in a case where the respondent is at that 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.]
Source footnotes
1. Subs. by Act 68 of 1976, s. 12, for s. 19 (w.e.f. 27-5-1976).2. Ins. by Act 50 of 2003, s. 4 (w.e.f. 23-12-2003).
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More sections of this act
Section 1 · Short title and extent.Section 2 · Application of Act.Section 3 · Definitions.Section 4 · Overriding effect of Act.Section 5 · Conditions for a Hindu marriage.Section 6 · [Omitted.].Section 7 · Ceremonies for a Hindu marriage.Section 8 · Registration of Hindu marriages.India Code, Government of India. Text fetched 09 Oct 2026. Source metadata reports last modification: 2026-05-06. Check the linked official text and subsequent notifications when applying a provision.