10 jun 2010
Irretrievable breakdown of marriage is now a ground for divorce
Hindu divorce law made more flexible
New Delhi, June 10:
The Union Cabinet today cleared a proposal making irretrievable breakdown of marriage a ground for divorce.
The procedure for obtaining divorce for this reason too will now be made easier, as per an amendment in the existing law.
The Cabinet approved introduction of a Bill, 'Marriage Laws(Amendment) Bill, 2010, to further amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Special Marriage Act, 1954 to incorporate irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a ground of divorce, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni told mediapersons here.
She said a provision has been made in the Bill to save parties which file divorce petition in court due to harassment , she said.
It has often been seen that one of the parties does not come to court or wilfully avoids the court to keep the divorce proceedings inconclusive, which causes great hardship to the party in need of divorce, so the amendments in the Act aim at avoiding such a situation, the Minister said.
The proposed amendments are in consonance with the recommendations of the Law Commission given in its 217th Report, Ms Soni said. The existing
Hindu Marriage Act lays down various grounds for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce, including adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion to another religion, unsoundness of mind, virulent and incurable form of leprosy, venereal disease in a communicable form, renouncement of world and not being heard as alive for a period of seven years or more. Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act lays down similar grounds.
However, section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act and Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act provide for divorce by mutual consent as a ground for divorce and say that a petition for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent if not withdrawn before six months after its presentation or not later than 18 months, then the court, on being satisfied after inquiry, can grant decree of divorce by mutual consent.
But, as already mentioned one party may harass the other by abstaining from the court proceedings to keep the divorce proceedings inconclusive , so the present amendment was badly needed to provide safeguard to the divorce seeker, Ms Soni said.
Besides the Law Commission, the Supreme Court too has observed and recommended that irretrievable breakdown of marriage should be incorporated as another ground for divorce. The court observations had come in the case of Ms Jorden Diengdeh Vs SS Chopra and in the case of Naveen Kohli Vs Neelu Kohli.
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Currently divorce in India can be granted for matrimonial fault, mutual consent or if one partner has not been heard of for several years.
The Supreme Court last year said the legal system should try to keep marriages together but agreed that divorces should not be withheld from couples who had completely split.
The proposed amendment, which was passed by a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will include "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" as a legal justification for divorce for the first time.
"In today's day and age it may be a welcome step but it will only really help urban women," Kamini Jaiswal, a Supreme Court advocate, told AFP. "Rural women will still get a raw deal as they are more oppressed by their husbands."
"Divorce is definitely more socially acceptable in urban India," she said. "I have seen a rapid rise in divorces, but in order to obtain a divorce it can take anywhere from six months to 20 years."
Official figures are unavailable but many experts use the figure of 11 Indian marriages in every 1,000 ending in divorce. The rate in the United States is about 400 in every 1,000.
Indian weddings themselves are normally celebrated in lavish style and often involve days of rituals and hundreds of guests.
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Husband finds better solution to false 498a-kills four of wife's familyby anilspacefor20096,463 views
Muslim rulers threatened and killed people for not turning to islam. They looted and plundered too but look at what the british brought to India. From movie industry to all this and more. Supreme court breaking family structure that worked well for millenias
nidhidhian 8 months ago