Matrimonial work is among the most demanding areas of practice. The papers are short but the consequences are not, and a litigant in this jurisdiction is rarely thinking clearly at the outset. Our approach in family matters is to put the realistic outcome before the client at the first conference, and to resist the temptation, common on both sides, to convert every dispute into a contested trial.

The practice covers divorce by mutual consent and contested petitions under the Hindu Marriage Act, the Special Marriage Act, the Indian Divorce Act, and matters governed by Muslim Personal Law. Maintenance proceedings under Section 125 of the CrPC (now Section 144 BNSS), interim and permanent maintenance under Sections 24 and 25 of the HMA, and applications under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 form a steady part of the docket. Custody and guardianship litigation under the Guardians and Wards Act, including visitation applications and jurisdictional issues for parents based abroad, is handled routinely.

A defining feature of the firm’s matrimonial work is its criminal-side competence. Cases under Section 498A IPC (now Section 85 BNS), prosecutions arising from marriage, and proceedings under the Dowry Prohibition Act are argued by the same team, which means the civil and criminal aspects of a matrimonial breakdown are read together rather than referred out. Anticipatory bail in dowry and domestic-cruelty cases is drafted in-house, including at the District Court level where senior counsel rarely appears.

On the adoption side, the firm advises on inter-country and domestic adoption under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and the Central Adoption Resource Authority framework. NRI adopters and OCI applicants are guided through the post-adoption registration and immigration steps that often go unattended at the first stage and create difficulty years later.