Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a petition for divorce is presented before the

Section 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act requires every petition under the Act to be presented to the "District Court" within whose local limits the marriage was solemnised or the parties reside or last resided together, and section 3(b) defines district court to include the principal civil court of original jurisdiction and any notified civil court. The Supreme Court and the High Court are not courts of first instance for divorce petitions. Where a Family Court has been set up, it exercises this jurisdiction under the Family Courts Act, 1984.