Union cabinet to decide on crucial divorce clause today

The Union cabinet will take a call on Thursday on whether “irretrievable breakdown of marriage” can be made a legitimate ground for divorce and included in the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) and the Special Marriage Act (SMA).

The cabinet is expected to examine the responses of the state governments on the matter. It has been maintained by the Law Commission and the Supreme Court (SC) that a couple estranged for years and not living under the same roof for a considerable period should not be allowed to suffer the time-consuming rigours of matrimonial law.

The Law Commission stresses that irretrievable breakdown of marriage be made another ground for divorce under section 13 of the HMA. Also that section 27 of the SMA should be armed with the provision. The SC, four years ago, recommended that the Centre should consider bringing an amendment in the HMA to incorporate the clause.

But the commission also said that a family court before granting divorce on such grounds should examine whether adequate financial arrangements have been made for the parties and the children.

Last year, the SC said that while it is the obligation of the court to keep a marriage alive, if the marriage is dead, it would not be of anyone’s gain to try to “keep the parties tied forever to a marriage which has ceased to exist”. Keeping such a couple tied in litigation would be “cruelty to them”.