Under Section 23(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the court shall grant relief only if:

Section 23(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act applies "whether defended or not", requiring proof of a relief ground and the applicable statutory safeguards. The own-wrong rule has the express Section 5(ii) exception, condonation concerns specified fault grounds, and the collusion restriction excludes Section 11 petitions; default appearance alone does not entitle the petitioner to a decree.