The correct answer is (c), Section 13-A.
Section 13-A of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides for the ‘Alternate relief in divorce proceeding’. It states that if a petition for divorce is filed on the ground of cruelty, desertion, or insanity, the court may, instead of granting a divorce, pass an order directing the respondent to pay maintenance to the petitioner.
Section 11 of the Act deals with the grounds for divorce. It states that a marriage may be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party has committed adultery, or that the other party has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of two years or more, or that the other party has been incurably of unsound mind for a continuous period of two years or more, or that the other party has been suffering from a virulent and incurable form of leprosy, or that the other party has been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form, or that the other party has been guilty of cruelty towards the petitioner, or that the other party has failed to comply with a decree for restitution of conjugal rights for a period of one year or more, or that the other party has been convicted of an offence punishable with imprisonment for seven years or more, or that the other party has been sentenced to imprisonment for life, or that the other party has disappeared from the place of ordinary residence of the parties for a period of seven years or more and the petitioner has not been able to trace the whereabouts of the other party.
Section 13 of the Act deals with the procedure for divorce. It states that a petition for divorce may be filed by either party to the marriage on any of the grounds mentioned in Section 11. The petition shall be filed in the district court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the marriage was solemnized or the respondent last resided. The court shall, after hearing the parties, pass a decree for divorce if it is satisfied that the ground on which the petition is based is proved.
Section 13-A of the Act was inserted by the Hindu Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2001. The purpose of this amendment was to provide an alternate relief to the parties in a divorce proceeding. Under Section 13-A, if a petition for divorce is filed on the ground of cruelty, desertion, or insanity, the court may, instead of granting a divorce, pass an order directing the respondent to pay maintenance to the petitioner. This provision is intended to provide financial support to the petitioner and to enable them to live independently.