Discriminatory Provisions in Christian Divorce Laws

Article 15 of the Indian Constitution forbids any form of discrimination on the grounds of religion or sex but the grounds for divorce as enacted in the 1869 Act were discriminatory to Christian women. Till the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act was enacted in 2001, Christians were governed by the Indian Divorce Act, 1869.  Reforms in Christian personal law became evident through the enactment of the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act 2001.

Indian Divorce Laws: Landmark Judgment in Ammini’s Case

Indian divorce laws are comprehensive as it regulates the provisions relating to filing and obtaining divorces. A landmark judgment was delivered by Justice Ramakrishnan in Ammini EJ v Union of India (AIR 1995 Kerala 252).  Justice Ramakrishnan stated that provisions like section 10 of the Indian Divorce Act of 1869 in any other laws that regulate divorces among other communities. Section 10 reads as follows: 10. When husband may petition for dissolution. Any husband may present a petition to the District Court or to the High Court, praying that his marriage may be dissolved on the ground that his wife has, since the solemnization thereof, been guilty of adultery.

Indian Divorce Laws: When wife may petition for dissolution

When wife may petition for dissolution.- Any wife may present a petition to the District Court or to the High Court, praying that her marriage may be dissolved on the ground that, since the solemnization thereof, her husband has exchanged his profession of Christianity for the profession of some other religion, and gone through a form of marriage with another woman:

• or has been guilty of incestuous adultery,
• or of bigamy with adultery,
• or of marriage with another woman with adultery, or of rape, sodomy or bestiality,
• or of adultery coupled with such cruelty as without adultery would have entitled her to a divorce a mensa et toro, or of adultery coupled with desertion, without reasonable excuse, for two years or upwards.

Indian Divorce Laws: Discriminatory Provisions Violate Article 21, Indian Constitution

Justice Ramakrishnan observed that a deserted Christian wife who was unable to secure divorce was tormented by a ‘tyrannical and authoritarian law’ that violated her right to live with ‘dignity’ and ‘liberty’ as enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian constitution. Further, the Kerala High Court held that such discriminatory grounds for divorce were unconstitutional. What does this judgment mean for the Christian woman? Let's find out.