The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the introduction of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 to further amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to provide “irretrievable break down of marriage” as a ground of divorce.
The bill will provide safeguards to parties in marriage who file petition for grant of divorce by consent 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.
At present, various grounds for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce are laid down in Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The grounds inter alia 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 as being alive for a period of seven years or more.