🔹 Section 10 – Judicial Separation

•It allows spouses to live apart without dissolving the marriage.

•Marriage remains legally valid.

•Grounds are similar to divorce (cruelty, adultery, desertion, etc.).

•Often used when a spouse is not ready for divorce but wants legal separation and relief.

🔹 Section 13 – Divorce

•Used to dissolve the marriage permanently.

•Based on similar grounds as judicial separation.

•Once granted, the marital relationship legally ends.

✅ Can You File Both Together?

🔸 Yes, but with clarity:

1.Alternative or Conditional Relief:

•A petitioner can include both requests in one petition, asking:

“If the court is not inclined to grant divorce under Section 13, then judicial separation under Section 10 may be granted.”

2.Separate Petitions:

•Generally, courts do not entertain two simultaneous petitions for different matrimonial reliefs (like one for separation and another for divorce) based on the same facts at the same time.

•You can amend a judicial separation petition later into a divorce petition if cohabitation hasn’t resumed for 1 year post-separation.

🔁 Conversion After Judicial Separation

•If you first file under Section 10 and are granted judicial separation, and the spouses do not resume cohabitation for 1 year, then under Section 13(1-A), you can later file for divorce.

⚖️ Court’s View

•Courts prefer clarity and consistency. Filing both simultaneously and independently for the same set of facts can be rejected as abuse of process.

•Filing with alternative prayers in a single petition is allowed and strategically sound.

✅ Best Practice

If you’re undecided or want both options, you can file something like:

“The petitioner seeks a decree of divorce under Section 13 on grounds of cruelty and desertion. However, if the court deems it appropriate, the petitioner alternatively prays for judicial separation under Section 10.”