Sreeparna Chakrabarty By

NEW DELHI: The government plans to make Christian divorce laws more women-friendly by reducing the period of separation required from two years to one. The Prime Minister’s Office is consulting a wide range of stakeholders before giving it the nod. The Divorce (Amendment) Bill 2016 is likely to be introduced in the Winter Session of parliament, sources told The Sunday Standard.

A draft cabinet note has been prepared on the bill, which seeks to amend the Divorce Act 1869, to bring Christian women at par with other communities like Hindus and Parsis. The note has been circulated to all ministries, including Law and Justice, Home and Women and Child Development. The British era ‘Divorce Act of 1869’ is an Act to amend the law relating to divorce and matrimonial issues of Christians. It is applicable to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir. Christians file for divorce under Section 10 A (1) of the Divorce Act, which prescribes that a petition for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent can be presented before a court only after a judicial separation of two years. The Supreme Court had last year questioned why Christian women should stay separated for two years when others only wait for a year. “It does not make sense to us. It is a pure question of law and you (government) should have acted on your own,” the court had observed.

In the past, the Law Commission has recommended amendments to the Act to make it more women-friendly.