When the Special Marriage Act governs your divorce
The Act applies where the marriage was solemnised or registered under it: typically inter-faith marriages, marriages between people who did not wish to marry under religious law, and marriages registered under the Act after the ceremony.
Registration under the Tamil Nadu registration of marriages framework is not the same thing. A Hindu marriage merely registered with the local registrar remains governed by the Hindu Marriage Act. What matters is the statute under which the marriage was solemnised or specifically registered.
The grounds, and how they differ
Section 27 sets out grounds broadly comparable to those under the Hindu Marriage Act, with some differences of formulation.
Mutual consent, and the practical points
Section 28 provides for divorce by mutual consent where the parties have been living separately for a year or more. As under the Hindu Marriage Act, the petition proceeds in two motions with a statutory interval, and the Supreme Court’s position on waiver applies here as well.
Two practical points come up repeatedly. First, succession for parties married under the Act is governed by the Indian Succession Act rather than personal law, which matters for any settlement involving inherited property. Second, where one spouse now lives abroad, the jurisdiction and service questions are the same as in any NRI divorce and should be addressed before filing.