This has been a long time coming.The law ministrys suggestion that irretrievable breakdown of marriage be made a ground for divorce has been cleared by the Union cabinet. Now, steps would have to be taken to amend the Hindu Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act accordingly. The marriage Acts of our country have clearly not kept up with the times. Legislated in the 1950s they have only three clauses for granting divorce: matrimonial fault, mutual consent and specific circumstances like a missing partner or insanity. The Supreme Court as well as the Law Commission have on several occasions recommended that breakdown of marriage be included in divorce provisions, but that is yet to have any impact on our laws. Its time this provision, which is available in many liberal democracies, be included in Indian law. The reasons for this are clear. Marriage is a contract where individuals are meant to enter on their free will. If one of the partners wants to break the contract for whatever reason, he or she must have the option to exit. This is akin to the no-fault divorce where dissolution of a marriage does not require any evidence of wrongdoing or breach of the marital contract. Several countries ,including the US and Australia,have provisions for such divorce.
In the Indian context, objections have been raised regarding the vulnerability of rural and illiterate women. These dont have much merit. If a man seeks divorce, he is likely to exploit a legal loophole. In any case, our current laws have not been able to stop men from deserting their wives or marrying many times. Instead of dwelling on the worst-case scenarios we need to amend our laws to make them more liberal. In the case of marriage, this must be predicated on the belief that it is a contract like any other.
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Not in societys interest
The cabinets nod to the proposed amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act, clearing the way for incorporating irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a ground for divorce,is a disastrous development.This will strike at the very root of the institution of marriage and significantly contribute to higher divorce rates in the country.For,if irretrievable breakdown of marriage becomes a legitimate ground for divorce,it will serve as a convenient excuse for married men and women to opt out of their marriages at the slightest hint of inconvenience.This is especially true for the urban set-up where individualism along with financial selfsufficiency is on the rise.The repercussions are indeed grave.Increase in the number of broken marriages will lead to various social problems such as erosion of the concept of family.Plus,the negative impact of divorce on children is immeasurable.Hence,this is a trend that should be discouraged.
In particular,the amendments will severely impact married women from rural or disadvantaged backgrounds who are largely dependent on their spouses for their financial needs.Divorce for them equals destitution.In such a scenario if a man were to claim irretrievable breakdown of marriage and get a divorce,given our weak alimony rules,his wife would be forced into abject poverty.Besides,making divorce easier should never be the aim of the state.Instead,the focus should be on marriage counselling.Divorce should be the last resort when all else has failed.
Marriage is the most fundamental of social institutions and its sanctity must be maintained.Social problems in western societies can all be traced to their flippant attitude towards marriage and family.Our society should not follow suit and fall prey to misplaced notions of modernity.
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(source-toi)
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