Insights

The now historic words were spoken by the Union Minister of Law and Justice in the Parliament while debating the Controversial “Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill” which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 31st July, after being cleared by the Lok Sabha on 25th July and finally made into law after the Presidential Assent on 1st August.

The issue of the Islamic practice of Triple talaq is not a recent one. In fact, it is one of the select few socio/religious issues which has actively captured the imagination of the Politics of our country for a period of at least four decades, the others being the Artcile 370, Uniform Civil Code and the construction of a Grand Ram Mandir.

In 2023, India implemented substantial changes to divorce proceedings through amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act, particularly affecting the Hindu community. These modifications are noteworthy and involve expanded grounds for divorce, encompassing factors such as adultery, mental or physical cruelty, desertion, conversion, and the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage. Unlike the previous law that primarily addressed physical violence and harassment as forms of mental cruelty, the updated regulations now include a broader range of actions, such as financial neglect and impeding child access.

STEP-I: The divorce petition containing the facts of the case, the grounds of divorce, all personal details of the parties is filed before the Family Courts under the law.

#Before filing a petition for divorce before a Family Court it should be checked for the case facts i.e the reason or ground on which the divorce is asked for, correct details of both the parties such as name, address, age, date of birth etc.

STEP-II: Family Court scrutinizes the divorce petition and issues notice on the divorce petition to the other party against whom the divorce petition has been filed.

Recently, the Supreme Court through its division bench, comprising of Justice D. Y Chandrachud and Justice Indira Banerjee, dismissed a special leave petition under Article 136 of the Constitution of India in the matter of Shome Nikhil Danani v. Tanya Banon Danani and thereby held that mere passing of an order under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 did not preclude the wife from seeking appropriate reliefs under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. The abovementioned S.L.P was filed against a Delhi High Court order which had expressed the same view as above.

One can never overemphasise the need for buying adequate life insurance cover for the financial security of one’s family members in the event of the death of the bread earner, especially when there are court cases between husband and wife. However, there is always a concern about the proceeds of the policy being claimed by the other legal heirs or the creditors of the deceased husband. These concerns can be addressed by understanding the meaning of ‘assignment’ and ‘nomination’.

The Apex Court in Sonu v. State of U.P. quashed an FIR u/s 376 IPC (Punishment for Rape: Proposed Section 64 of The Bharariya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) between former lovers on the ground that “there is no allegation that the promise to marry given to the second respondent (prosecutrix) was false at the inception”.