Make irretrievable breakdown of marriage a grounds for divorce

What is the value of thirty years of a person’s life? J. M. Kohli spent thirty years in the alleys of courts, fighting for the basic right to get out of an unhappy marriage, finally getting a decree of divorce at the age of 85 in 2011. Mehtab Singh’s ‘marriage’ in which his ‘wife’ stayed with him for only one day, was dissolved in 2012 after a court battle of 25 years. Contested divorce cases routinely take more than ten years in courts (lawyer Geeta Luthra: Mail Today 17/01/2011). Anybody familiar with the pernicious culture of easy adjournments, long dates, and the lack of accountability of lawyers and judges alike, knows that this pace of justice is not exceptional by Indian standards. Existing divorce laws in India are fault-based, under which individuals have to fight vicious, sapping and ultimately futile battles, to prove spouse’s fault in order to get out of tortuous and unhappy marriages. This right is denied to them by spouses, who very often in a spirit of vindictiveness, employ all possible ways to prolong the case. But more tragically, this right is denied to them by the system, which labours under the incomprehensible delusion that something is to be gained by refusing divorce to people who have fought bitterly for so many years in court: that they can somehow magically be reconciled. The Marriage Laws Amendment Bill (2010), pending in Rajya Sabha, which seeks to introduce a no-fault grounds for divorce namely irretrievable breakdown of marriage, if passed, will bring relief to many such justice seekers. Mr Veerappa Moily, then law minister, in June 2010 informed that there are 55,000 divorce cases pending in Indian courts, which will be settled speedily if above bill is passed (DNA, 24th Jun 2010). This is not an ‘easy’ exit from marriage as feared by certain groups. According to the draft bill, a person can seek divorce under this provision only if the couple has not stayed together for at least three years continuously prior to filing for divorce. Such a provision does not lend itself to easy divorces or breakup of marriage on frivolous grounds. Nor will this bill disadvantage women from economically weaker sections. Indeed, formal justice, because of its expensive and time-consuming nature continues to be out of reach for the average Indian, especially in villages and small towns. Consequently, men who want to desert their wives or remarry, do so, irrespective of the law. Fighting this out in court is not an option for most women because of the time taken in and stigma attached to contesting a case, and the difficulties of proving matrimonial fault. Most people thus, do not go to court and suffer in silence, or at best, agree to an out-of-court settlement (as a part of a mutual consent divorce) in which there is no regulation by the court on how much alimony a woman gets. Instead, this law which recognizes the reality of a broken marriage, and makes divorce accessible with financial safeguards, will allow more people to avail these financial safeguards, rather than get pressured into arbitrary out-of-court settlements. Let us not, as a society, condemn individuals to stay in toxic, unhappy marriages which are beyond repair. Let us not force them to fight for decades for the basic right to get out of such a marriage. Each such long drawn out battle represents a travesty of justice and of individual choice. Passing this bill at the earliest is the most humane thing that can be done for people who suffer this travesty, allowing them to start a new life with some dignity and peace. This is an appeal to parliamentarians to take up and pass the Marriage Laws Amendment Bill (2010) in the on-going budget session without any further delay. By supporting this cause, please help affirm that individual choice and happiness and the years of her/his life are precious. Please lend your support to this campaign by adding your signature. For the originally tabled bill see: http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-marriage-laws-amendment-bill-2010-1227/ A personal appeal to MPs: http://adityagilra.blogspot.in/2012/04/make-irretrievable-breakdown-of.html