Modi ji has been careful in choosing capable persons for key ministries. It is however unfortunate that Modi ji has not paid attention to the Law ministry. Delayed justice is of no use. People have lost faith in the legal system.
The focus should be on reducing judicial back log. 43 lakh cases in High Courts and 3 crore cases in Lower courts were pending as UPA wound down. Judge vacancies, erratic work schedule, timings, vacations have had an adverse impact on the pending cases.
Judicial reforms and police reforms are the need of the hour for tackling the judicial backlog. It is equally important that faulty laws should not be framed, so that more fake cases are not added to the judicial backlog.
Marriage Law (Amendment) Bill is one such bill which the BJP led NDA government wants to
pass in the Winter session. It is a lapsed UPA bill, which was different from what the Parliamentary
Standing Committee suggested, and didn't take many factors into consideration. It was hurriedly passed in the Rajya Sabha in the last session of UPA without adequate debate and in poor attendance. Check out the draft version of the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha. One can clearly
find that the draft version was drastically different from what the Parliamentary Standing
Committee recommended. Check out the recommendations by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
Supreme Court has stated IPC 498a as Legal Terror. The proposed Marriage Law (Amendment)
Bill if passed into law will be state sponsored extortion as the Husband is being punished for a "No Fault" divorce.
The focus should be on reducing judicial back log. 43 lakh cases in High Courts and 3 crore cases in Lower courts were pending as UPA wound down. Judge vacancies, erratic work schedule, timings, vacations have had an adverse impact on the pending cases.
Judicial reforms and police reforms are the need of the hour for tackling the judicial backlog. It is equally important that faulty laws should not be framed, so that more fake cases are not added to the judicial backlog.
Marriage Law (Amendment) Bill is one such bill which the BJP led NDA government wants to
pass in the Winter session. It is a lapsed UPA bill, which was different from what the Parliamentary
Standing Committee suggested, and didn't take many factors into consideration. It was hurriedly passed in the Rajya Sabha in the last session of UPA without adequate debate and in poor attendance. Check out the draft version of the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha. One can clearly
find that the draft version was drastically different from what the Parliamentary Standing
Committee recommended. Check out the recommendations by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
Supreme Court has stated IPC 498a as Legal Terror. The proposed Marriage Law (Amendment)
Bill if passed into law will be state sponsored extortion as the Husband is being punished for a "No Fault" divorce.
Flaws of the Marriage Law (Amendment) Bill
- The Bill, out-rightly violates the essence of Article 15 of Indian Constitution which prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion or gender. The Bill is also unconstitutional as it takes away the basic rights of husbands, even to defend him or save his marriage, whereas the very same Bill gives the same rights only to the wives.
- In present bill the contribution, duration, assets and ability of female spouse and liabilities and ability of the male spouse is completely ignored.
- With the latest Hindu Succession Act, a woman is entitled to her share from her own parent's property as a man is. There is no rational as to why she should inherit from her in-laws too? What would happen to senior citizens if their son’s marriage is on rocks?
- The bill essentially extends the “Financial Assistance” clause only to the wife. Can't a husband be poor and helpless as other sections of this act acknowledge.
- The bill allows wife to use ‘Financial Hardship’ as an objection to block the divorce till her monetary demands are met, thereby legalizing extortion.
- With this amendment, instead of letting the couple to arrive at a mutual consent it would only pressurize men to “pay and buy” a divorce, reducing the institution of marriage into a System where wives would misuse it for wrongful gains.
- While 70% of Indians need Food Security Bill , this amendment as a way to protect destitution of women is a logically flawed and essentially a eye wash.
Time to Overhaul the Family Laws
With the focus on repealing obsolete laws, it will also be an appropriate time to overhaul the family laws.
- Hindu Marriage Act is conceived as an overall a gender neutral act and it must not be made gender biased in anyway.
- The maintenance and alimony sections (HMA 24 and 25) must be brought up-to-date considering the enhanced education, earning capacity and women friendly work atmosphere in the country.
- As women inherit the property from their own parents under the present laws, women being given any direct or indirect share in in-laws property is illogical and against natural justice.
- Consideration of any property while determining Alimony should be as per the financial contribution by husband and wife.
- In case of non-financial contribution, a formula should be devised to evaluate minimum duration of marriage for applicability of property division. A formula also should be devised to evaluate the contribution.
- Pre-Nuptial Agreements should be made legal so as not to make marriage a gamble for Indian citizen and containing the risk of (breakage of) a marriage.
