Women’s Legal Rights in Mumbai: All Guides

Plain-language guides for women in Mumbai and Maharashtra on violence at home, dowry, maintenance, divorce, custody, stridhan, online harassment and records. In an emergency, call 112.

New: If you have been forced out of the house, read Thrown out of your marital home? What to do in the first 48 hours. Facing a maintenance case? Draft your disclosure affidavit with the free maintenance affidavit helper.

• Divorce for women
• How much maintenance
• महिलाओं के लिए तलाक
• Legal options for women: free tool
• Domestic violence case
• Police not registering an FIR

Violence and harassment at home

• घरेलू हिंसा का केस कैसे दर्ज करें (मुंबई): घरेलू हिंसा अधिनियम, 2005 के तहत पूरी प्रक्रियाघरेलू हिंसा केवल मारपीट नहीं है। गाली-गलौज, धमकी, पैसे रोकना और घर से निकालना भी इसमें आता है। घरेलू हिंसा अधिनियम, 2005 के तहत कौन केस कर सकता है, किसके खिलाफ,…
• Widowed Daughter-in-Law: Your Right to Maintenance, a Home and a Share in Your Husband’s PropertyWhen a woman is widowed, in-laws sometimes stop supporting her or ask her to leave.
• Can My Husband or In-Laws Throw Me Out of the House? A Wife’s Right to ResidenceUnder Section 17 of the Domestic Violence Act, a woman cannot be evicted from the shared household except by due process, even if it belongs to her in-laws.
• How to File a Domestic Violence Case in Mumbai: Step by Step Under the DV ActThe Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 lets a woman seek protection, residence, money and custody orders quickly from a Magistrate.
• Dowry Harassment and Cruelty by the Husband or In-Laws: A Woman’s Options Under Sections 85 and 86 BNSSection 498A IPC is now Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, with cruelty defined in Section 86.

Maintenance, divorce, custody and stridhan

• How much maintenance can a wife get?The 25% benchmark, disclosure affidavits, and how courts decide.
• Divorce for Muslim women without the husband’s consentThe grounds under the 1939 Act.
• Divorce checklist for womenDocuments to collect before you file.

• Getting Back Your Stridhan and Jewellery After Separation: A Guide for Women in MumbaiJewellery and gifts given to a woman before, at or after her marriage are her stridhan and remain her absolute property.
• Husband Married Again Without Divorce? Bigamy Under Section 82 BNS and the First Wife’s RightsFor Hindus, Christians, Parsis and those married under the Special Marriage Act, a second marriage while the first subsists is void and an offence under Section 82 BNS.
• Husband Having an Affair? A Wife’s Legal Options in MumbaiSince 2018, adultery is not a criminal offence in India, but a husband’s affair still has legal consequences.
• Child Custody in Mumbai: How the Family Court Decides and What Each Parent Can Ask ForCustody in Mumbai is decided by the Family Court on one test: the welfare of the child.
• Khula and Divorce for Muslim Women in Mumbai: Rights and ProcessHow a Muslim woman can end her marriage in India: khula (including the 2025 Telangana High Court ruling on consent), mubarat, a decree under the 1939 Act, the law on…
• A Wife’s Rights in Divorce in Mumbai: Home, Maintenance, Children and StridhanA wife’s rights in a divorce in Mumbai, step by step: the right to stay in the home, interim maintenance and alimony, custody of children, return of stridhan, mutual…
• Maintenance Under Section 144 BNSS: Who May Claim and HowWho can claim maintenance under Section 144 of the BNSS, the successor of Section 125 CrPC, and how interim maintenance works.
• Mutual Consent Divorce: The Basic ProcessWhere both spouses agree to end a marriage, the law generally provides a simpler route than a contested case — a petition for divorce by mutual consent.

Harassment, threats and false promises

• Ex Threatening to Leak Your Private Photos or Videos? What to Do Right NowThreats to share intimate images are a serious crime in India, and platforms must remove such content within 24 hours of a complaint.
• Boyfriend Cheated After Promising Marriage? Section 69 BNS, Live-in Rights and What the Courts Look ForSection 69 of the BNS punishes sexual intercourse obtained by a false promise of marriage or other deceit.

Marriage and records

• Going Back to Your Maiden Name After Divorce: Gazette, Aadhaar, PAN, Passport and Bank in MaharashtraMany women want to return to their maiden name after a divorce, but find banks, the Passport Office and Aadhaar asking for different proof.
• Mistake in Your Marriage Certificate? How to Correct a Name, Date or Address in MumbaiA small mistake in a marriage certificate can hold up a passport, a spouse visa or a name change.
• Late Marriage Registration in Mumbai: Registering After 90 Days or Years LaterMany couples in Mumbai register their marriage years later, often when a visa, passport or property matter requires a certificate.
• Nikah Registration in Mumbai: Getting a Marriage Certificate for a Muslim MarriageHow to register a nikah in Mumbai and get a government marriage certificate: nikahnama vs certificate, Form D at the BMC ward office, three witnesses, Urdu…
• Court Marriage in Mumbai Under the Special Marriage Act: Step-by-Step GuideA complete guide to court marriage in Mumbai under the Special Marriage Act, 1954: who can marry, the 30-day notice and objections, three witnesses, the certificate,…

These guides give general information about the law and procedure in Maharashtra. They are not legal advice; what applies to you depends on your facts.