Marriage laws to be amended to make divorce easier

The amendment makes it possible to seek a divorce by proving that there has been an "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" and to escape the delays and "harassment" caused because of one party not turning up in courts.

The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill 2010 was approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Bill provides for an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and the Special Marriage Act 1954, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters.

The Bill would provide safeguards from the "harassment" in court if any of the party does not come to the court or wilfully avoids the court to keep the divorce proceedings inconclusive, she said.

The amendment bill has been prepared on the recommendations of the Law Commission as well as the Supreme Court, and says that an "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" should be incorporated as another ground for grant of divorce.

The new clause will be in addition to the existing grounds for divorce that 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 of as being alive for a period of seven years.

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 dissolution of marriage, she said.

These sections provide that a petition for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent, if not withdrawn before six months after its presentation or not later than 18 months, the court may grant a decree of divorce by mutual consent.

It has been observed that the parties who have filed a petition for mutual consent suffer in case one of the parties abstains from court proceedings and keeps them inconclusive, Soni added.