The Cabinet on Thursday approved an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act to make irretrievable breakdown of marriage an additional ground for divorce.
Presently, various grounds for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce are laid down in section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The grounds include adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion to another religion, unsoundness of mind, virulent and incurable form of leprosy, venereal disease in a communicable form, renouncement of the world and not heard as being alive for a period of seven years or more. Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 also 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 presenting a petition for dissolution of marriage. The said sections provide that a petition for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent, if not withdrawn before six months after its presentation or not later than 18 months, then, the court may, on being satisfied after making inquiry, grant decree of divorce by mutual consent. However, it has been observed that the parties who have filed petition for mutual consent suffer in case one of the parties abstains himself or herself from court proceedings and keeps the divorce proceedings inconclusive. This has been causing considerable hardship to the party in dire need of divorce.
After the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni reportedly told reporters that this would provide safeguards to parties who file petitions for grant of divorce by mutual consent, but who willfully avoid coming to court thus causing harassment to the other party.
She said the amendment would be effected through the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 which would be tabled in Parliament.
