Legal FAQs

Call or WhatsApp +91 97227 73557, or send an enquiry through the contact page. Consultations are available at our Rakhial office, by phone or by video call.

F-308, Block-F, 3rd Floor, SUMEL-7 Business Park, near Soni ni Chali Cross Road, Narol–Naroda Road, Rakhial, Ahmedabad 380023.

The Ahmedabad Family Court, Metropolitan Magistrate Courts at Ghee Kanta, City Civil & Sessions Court at Bhadra, the Rural Court at Mirzapur and the High Court of Gujarat.

Yes. Many matters, including mutual and contested divorce, can be handled through a Power of Attorney and video-conference appearances permitted by the court.

Usually a few weeks to about six months. If the Family Court waives the six-month cooling-off period, it can be completed much sooner.

In urgent arrest situations a bail application can usually be filed the same day or the next working day once the FIR and remand details are available.

Yes. Adults – groom 21+ and bride 18+ – do not need parental consent to marry.

Yes. Everything you share with your advocate is confidential and protected by advocate–client privilege.

A bail application can usually be filed the same day or the next working day after arrest, once the FIR and remand details are available. For bailable offences bail is granted as a right; for non-bailable offences the application is argued before the Magistrate or Sessions Court.

Anticipatory bail (Section 482 BNSS, earlier Section 438 CrPC) is protection from arrest granted before arrest. Apply as soon as you have a reasonable fear of arrest in a non-bailable case – it is filed before the Sessions Court or the High Court of Gujarat.

Yes. The High Court of Gujarat can quash an FIR under its inherent powers (Section 528 BNSS, earlier Section 482 CrPC) if it discloses no offence, is malicious, is essentially a civil dispute, or has been settled between the parties in certain offences.

Most cases start before the Metropolitan Magistrate Courts at Ghee Kanta. Serious offences triable by a Court of Session go to the City Civil & Sessions Court at Bhadra. Bail appeals, quashing petitions and criminal appeals go to the High Court of Gujarat at Sola.

The BNS, BNSS and BSA apply to offences committed on or after 1 July 2024. Offences committed before that date continue under the IPC and CrPC. Your advocate will check the date of the alleged offence and the sections applied.

Yes. We assist with representations to the cyber cell and the bank, and where needed, applications before the competent court for release of the frozen amount, with transaction proofs, bank statements and the complaint number.

Under the Special Marriage Act the 30-day notice period applies, so it usually takes about 30–45 days. Where both parties are Hindu, Buddhist, Jain or Sikh, a ceremony followed by registration can often be completed within a few days.

Yes. Parental consent is not legally required for adults. The groom must be 21 or older and the bride 18 or older, and both must consent freely.

Three witnesses are required under the Special Marriage Act. Witnesses must be adults and carry ID and address proof.

Yes. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 allows persons of different religions to marry without either party converting.

Yes, under the Special Marriage Act. The foreign partner needs a valid passport and visa, and usually a No Objection or Single Status Certificate from their embassy, and the residence requirement must be met by one party.

Yes. A certificate issued by the Marriage Registrar is legal proof of marriage and is accepted for visas and immigration, often after apostille by the Ministry of External Affairs.

A divorce petition is drafted on the applicable ground (or jointly for mutual consent), signed and verified, and filed before the Family Court at Ahmedabad along with the marriage proof and supporting documents. The court then issues notice or fixes the date for recording statements.

Section 13 lists grounds including cruelty, desertion for at least two years, adultery, conversion to another religion, incurable unsoundness of mind, a virulent and incurable form of leprosy, venereal disease in a communicable form, renunciation of the world, and not being heard of as alive for seven years.

Yes, by filing a contested divorce on a legal ground such as cruelty or desertion and proving it with evidence before the Family Court.

There is no fixed formula. The court considers both parties’ income, assets, liabilities, standard of living and the needs of the wife and children, based on the affidavits of assets and liabilities each side files.

Yes. NRIs can authorise a family member through a Power of Attorney, and the Family Court can permit appearance by video conference for recording statements.

Our office is open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. For urgent arrest or bail situations you can call or WhatsApp outside office hours.

Yes. Consultations are available in person at our Rakhial office, by phone, or by video call for clients outside Ahmedabad and NRIs.

Fees depend on the type of case, the court and the amount of work involved. We discuss the fee clearly at the first consultation, with no hidden charges.

We represent clients from all over Ahmedabad and Gujarat. Our office in Rakhial is convenient for eastern Ahmedabad – Bapunagar, Odhav, Nikol, Naroda, Vastral, Amraiwadi – and well connected to the court complexes at Bhadra and Ghee Kanta.

Yes. We handle bail applications, FIR quashing petitions, criminal appeals and related matters before the High Court of Gujarat.

Interim maintenance is often decided within a few months of filing. The final order may take longer depending on evidence. The court can order maintenance from the date of the application.

Yes. A wife’s qualifications or modest earnings do not automatically bar maintenance. The court compares both incomes and the standard of living she enjoyed in the matrimonial home.

Custody depends on the welfare of the child. Young children are often placed with the mother, but a father can be granted custody if it is in the child’s best interest. The other parent usually gets visitation rights.

An execution application can be filed in the Family Court. The court can attach property, direct deduction from salary, or issue a warrant for recovery of the arrears.

Under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, if a spouse withdraws from the other’s company without reasonable excuse, the aggrieved spouse can ask the court to order them to return to the matrimonial home.

Usually between a few weeks and about six to seven months. If the court waives the six-month cooling-off period, the divorce can be completed shortly after the first motion.

Yes. “Living separately” means not living as husband and wife. Courts have accepted separation under the same roof where the couple has stopped cohabiting as spouses.

Yes. Consent can be withdrawn at any time before the decree is passed. The petition then fails, and the other spouse would need to file a contested divorce.

No. Alimony is a matter of agreement between the parties. It can be a lump sum, instalments, or waived entirely, and the agreed terms are recorded by the court.

Both must appear for recording of statements at the first and second motions. Courts may allow appearance by video conference, especially for spouses living abroad.

Cruelty is the most commonly used ground. Mental cruelty can include persistent humiliation, false criminal complaints, refusal to cohabit and conduct that makes it unreasonable to expect the spouse to live together.

Yes. You can file a contested divorce on a legal ground. The court will grant divorce if you prove the ground with evidence, even if your spouse does not consent.

Typically two to five years, depending on evidence and court schedules. It can be shorter if the other spouse does not appear and the matter proceeds ex parte, or if the parties settle.

Yes. Either spouse with insufficient income can apply for interim maintenance and litigation expenses under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act while the case is pending.

It is not a statutory ground for the Family Court. However, the Supreme Court can dissolve a marriage on this basis under Article 142 of the Constitution, as recognised in Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023).