Upon any such petition presented by a husband, the petitioner shall make the alleged adulterer a co-respondent to the said petition, unless he is excused from so doing on one of the following grounds, to be allowed by the Court:-
(1) that the respondent is leading the life of a prostitute, and that the petitioner knows of no person with whom the adultery has been committed;
(2) that the name of the alleged adulterer is unknown to the petitioner although he has made due efforts to discover it;
(3) that the alleged adulterer is dead.

Upon any such petition for the dissolution of a marriage, the Court shall satisfy itself, so far as reasonable can, not only as to the facts alleged, but also whether or not the petitioner has been on any manner accessory to, or conniving at the going through of the said form of marriage, or the adultery, or has condoned the same, and shall also inquire into any countercharge which may be made against the petitioner.

In case the Court, on the evidence in relation to any such petition, is satisfied that the petitioner's case has not been proved, or is not satisfied that the alleged adultery has been committed,
or finds that petitioner has, during the marriage, been accessory to, or conniving at, the going through of the said form of marriage, or the adultery of the other party to the marriage, or has condoned the adultery complained of,
or that the petition is presented or prosecuted in collusion with either of the respondents,
then and in any of the said cases the Court shall dismiss the petition.
When a petition is dismissed by a District Court under this section, the petitioner may, nevertheless, present a similar petition to the High Court Division.

In case the Court is satisfied on the evidence that the case of the petitioner has been proved,
and does not find that the petitioner has been in any manner accessory to, or conniving at, the going through of the said form of marriage, or the adultery of the other party to the marriage, or has condoned the adultery complained of,
or that the petition is presented or prosecuted in collusion with either of the respondents,
the Court shall pronounce a decree declaring such marriage to be dissolved in the manner and subject to all the provisions and limitations in sections 16 and 17 made and declared:
Provided that the Court shall not be bound to pronounce such decree if it finds that the petitioner has, during the marriage, been guilty of adultery,
or if the petitioner has, in the opinion of the Court, been guilty of unreasonable delay in presenting or prosecuting such petition,
or of cruelty towards the other party to the marriage,
or of having deserted or wilfully separated himself or herself from the other party before the adultery complained of, and without reasonable excuse,
or of such wilful neglect or misconduct of or towards the other party as has conduced to the adultery.

No adultery shall be deemed to have been condoned within the meaning of this Act unless where conjugal co-habitation has been resumed or continued.

In any suit instituted for dissolution of marriage, if the respondent opposes the relief sought on the ground, in case of such a suit instituted by a husband, of his adultery, cruelty or desertion without reasonable excuse, or, in case of such a suit instituted by a wife, on the ground of her adultery and cruelty, the Court may in such suit give to the respondent, on his or her application, the same relief to which he or she would have been entitled in case he or she had presented a petition seeking such relief, and the respondent shall be competent to give evidence of or relating to such cruelty or desertion.

Every decree for a dissolution of marriage made by High Court Division, not being a confirmation of a decree of a District Court, shall, in the first instance, be a decree nisi, not to make absolute till after the expiration of such time, not less than six months from the pronouncing thereof, as the High Court Division by general or special order from time to time directs.

Any husband or wife may present a petition to the District Court or to the High Court Division, praying that his or her marriage may be declared null and void.

Such decree may be made on any of the following grounds:-
(1) that the respondent was impotent at the time of the marriage and at the time of the institution of the suit;
(2) that the parties are within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity (whether natural or legal) or affinity;
(3) that either party was a lunatic or idiot at the time of the marriage;
(4) that the former husband or wife of either party was living at the time of the marriage, and the marriage with such former husband or wife was then in force.
Nothing in this section shall affect the jurisdiction of the High Court Division to make decrees of nullity of marriage on the ground that the consent of either party was obtained by force or fraud.

Every decree of nullity of marriage made by a District Judge shall be subject to confirmation by the High Court Division, and the provisions of section 17, clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to such decrees.