Marriage Laws bill divides Cabinet; referred to GoM

New Delhi: The controversial Marriage Laws bill on Wednesday divided the Union Cabinet over a clause dealing with woman’s right to husband’s property after divorce, forcing the matter to be referred to a Group of Ministers.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saw ministers expressing differing views on the clause which seeks to provide a share to a woman in her husband’s residential property, including inherited and ‘inheritable’ premises, in case of divorce, sources said.

The clause in the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill is being opposed by the Women and Child Development Ministry which has written to the Law Ministry, saying it could lead to further trouble for the woman in divorce.

The issue dominated most of the time during the two-hour-long Cabinet meeting with most of the ministers speaking on the subject.

Briefing reporters on the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the issue was referred to a Group of Ministers to sort out “one or two clauses”.

He sought to downplay the divisions in the Cabinet over the issue, saying, “When 30 thinking men and women present different opinions, different opinions does not mean a difference of opinion” on a subject.

“Views are expressed in a Cabinet and after expressing views, the Prime Minister takes the final decision. In this case the matter has been referred to a Group of Ministers to look at one or two clauses of the Bill,” he said.

After its introduction in the Rajya Sabha, the Bill has come up before the Cabinet on three occasions with various changes. It is still pending in Rajya Sabha.

The amendment bill, which seeks to alter the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954, introduces the option of divorce on grounds of “irretrievable breakdown of marriage.”

The Cabinet was also divided on the issue of woman getting a share in her husband’s joint property.

While there is a view that she can be “compensated in monetary terms”, ministers said this could lead to dispute in the joint family which is already facing divorce proceedings of a family member.

Some ministers questioned the clause which gives a woman right over her husband’s property acquired before marriage.

On the issue of ‘inheritable’ property (a property a man is expected to inherit), they wanted to know the procedure in case the husband inherits the property after the divorce decree is filed.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has suggested that a woman’s right to inheritable property and property acquired by the husband before marriage be kept out of the purview of the law as it would further “entangle” the woman in court cases, the sources said.

The Law Ministry, which is piloting the amendment bill, also agreed that the clauses need further consideration.

Even as the Cabinet was discussing the matter, a small group of protesters shouted slogans against the Bill outside the Prime Minister’s official residence.

They were rounded up by the police and taken away from the high security zone.

PTI