Anti-women,says Oppn of Bill that seeks to make divorce easier

The Bill seeks to further amend the Hindu Marriage Act,1955,and the Special Marriage Act,1954.

Cutting across party lines,various members felt the Bill was being brought in haste and felt its spirit went against the interests of women and feared that they would lose their rights further if divorce was made easier.

Opposition parties including BJP,SP,BSP,BJD,CPI and CPI(M) besides a Congress member opposed the bill and sought not to “reduce cooling off period” for couples to end their marriage through divorce.

Khurshid said a discussion with Leader of the Opposition was on for bringing amendments to the Bill,even as members insisted the discussion be completed first and leaders of various parties be consulted.

Tapan Kumar Sen (CPI-M) opposed the Bill in its present form and said it was a “reflection of a biased mindset” against weaker sections of the society.

“It would be discriminatory to relax the conditions for grant of divorce in marriage… Women are not considered equals in society… Our law does not view women as equal partners in marriage,” he said.

Seeking reconsideration of the Bill,Sen said laws related to maintenance must be strengthened and women should get equal rights in property. “There should be special arrangement so that women facing divorce should not suffer due to legal hazards,” he said.

Shadi Lal Batra (Cong),however,raised objections to certain provisions of the Bill and said more deliberations were required on issues like fixing alimony.

Taking a dig at the Law Minister,Naresh Agrawal (SP) said the minister should not acquire an image of being anti-women when he ”already has the image of being anti-minority”. He said the Bill should be referred to the Select Committee.

Later,when the minister sought to refer the Bill to the Committee,Agrawal again raised objections saying members be given the opportunity to complete discussion.

Jaya Bachchan (SP) said the process of divorce must not be made easier and there should be longer cooling-off period for couples to rethink about marriage.

Noting that no marriage breaks easily in a country like India,she suggested the government go emotionally and not legally on the issue.

She suggested couples with children who are differently-abled should not be granted divorce in any case.

Brajesh Pathak (BSP) said the government wanted to make divorce easier but the passage of the Bill would encourage western influences and increase insecurity among women.

Baishnab Parida (BJD) and Gundu Sudha Rani (TDP) suggested the Bill be referred to the Select Committee as it does not give adequate protection to women and children and there is no clarity on the definition of irretrievable marriage.

Apprehending the Bill would encourage divorce,M P Achuthan (CPI) said the cooling-off period can be widely misused and wives should be compensated with 50 per cent property. “We do not see so much urgency to pass this Bill,” he said,seeking further deliberation on it.

Echoing similar views,Maya Singh (BJP) said the Bill would be misused and would encourage divorce. She mentioned that compensation had not been quantified in the Bill and this would go against the protection of women and children.

Ram Kripal Yadav (RJD) said the Bill should be not brought in haste and there was need to put a stop on increasing divorce. “No law should encourage divorce,” he said.

Rama Jois (BJP) said the Bill went against the interests of the family as a fundamental unit. He lamented that mutual fidelity and love has been replaced by sex and lust.

Kanimozhi (DMK) said there should be clarity on the provision on custody of children and suggested an institutional mechanism for prompt delivery of compensation.

Yogendra P Trivedi (NCP) said custody of children should not be left with people who are financially sound and emotional aspect be considered before taking such a decision.

Saifuddin Soz (Cong) said divorce is detestable in our society and the spirit of today’s discussion was noble and would go a long way in protecting the dignity of women. He suggested that divorce must not be granted to defaulters who stood to benefit from it and sought to plug this loophole. He favoured a cooling off period before granting divorce.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (Trinamool) said compensation should be quantified and not be left to the courts’ decision.

H K Dua (Nom) said irretrievable marriages of NRI wives were not covered in this Bill and asked the government to come with another law to help NRI wives who have been dumped by their husbands. Shantaram Naik (Cong) also participated in the debate.