Under Section 23(1)(a) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, judicial separation may be sought on grounds…

Section 23(1)(a) allows judicial separation "on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (1) and sub-section (1A) of section 27 on which a petition for divorce might have been presented". The grounds in section 27(2) presuppose an earlier decree, and mutual consent under section 28 and nullity under sections 24 and 25 are not grounds for judicial separation.