Marriage is the foundation of a family, which binds two lives and souls together.

So as to be
in pace with the ideologies and practices of today’s society with regard to marriages, there
have been a number of amendments

“Personal laws (amendment) act of 2019”

Introduction
Personal laws are the combination of rules and regulations which are applied by a person
belonging to a certain religion in the Indian society

“The personal laws (amendment) act of 2019”, is focused on the abolishment of leprosy as a
justifiable ground for divorce

Leprosy is a contagious disease which is caused by the skin growing bacteria called called
Mycobacterium leprae1

In the recent the case of “Pankaj Sinha V. Union of India and Ors.”2, the petitioner said to
the court about leprosy as been proven to be cured by the MDT drug, but still those affected
are outcasted by the society. Thereby, the Supreme Court directed the government to take
appropriate measures to aware the people about the available cure to leprosy and not
ostracised these people from the society

With the same objective, the “personal laws amendment act of 2019”, has brought about a
change with respect to certain provisions in the various acts governing the laws of marriage
in the Indian society

Analysis and conclusion

“https://www.who.int/health-topics/leprosy#tab=tab_1”
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[ 2018 ] 8 MLJ 47
The impact of the amendment on the various marriage laws

“Hindu marriage act, 1955”

The act provides for incurable leprosy as a ground for divorce, contained in article
13(1), clause (iv) which has now been omitted

“Special marriage act, 1954”

After the amendment to the special marriage act, section 27(1)(g) which provided
with leprosy as a ground for divorce in the marriage has been eliminated

“Dissolution of Muslim marriage act, 1939”

The section 2 clause (vi) was omitted with the amendment of the act which
provided leprosy as a reason to obtain divorce in marriage

“Divorce act, 1869”

With the new amendment act, the section 10(1)(iv) was omitted following the
amendment of the act providing no ground for divorce on the basis of leprechaun
lasting for not less than two years

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 “Hindu adoption and maintenance act, 1956”

Earlier, in this act the wife had the right to claim for maintenance from the husband
on the grounds of leprosy even after divorce. Now this provision which was laid
down in section 8(2)(c) has been removed

In India, leprosy has always been a highly stigmatised disease that has isolated those who are
stricken by it. The individuals suffering from this disease are said to be cursed not only on the
basis of health but also in accordance with the judiciary, social outcast and non acceptance in
the society. An important aspect of this, is the marital relationships, where the law enables the
spouse to take it as a defence for divorce.

So in order to safeguard the interests of these people, the person laws amendment act of 2019
was passed. With the passing of this law, much awareness has been brought about this issue,
erasing all the pre conceived notions and bringing a sense of equality among all .

“Marriage laws (amendment) bill of 2013”

Introduction

Marriage laws are the certain rules which govern the marriage with respect to the
requirements for the two people to be lawfully married or relating to its revocation, i.e
divorce

“Marriage laws (amendment) bill of 2013”, was said to be as a step towards transforming the
jurisprudence of marriage. The main objective behind drafting the Bill was to introduce
“Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage” as a ground to provide relief in marriage owing to
the changes in the dynamics of family relations

The Supreme Court of India in the case of “Ms. Jorden Diengdeh V. S.S. Chopra”3
emphasised in its judgment the need for the introduction of “irretrievable breakdown of
marriage and mutual consent”, to be incorporated as a basis for the divorce in marriage

“AIR 1985 SC 935”

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Analysis and conclusion

The Marriage laws ( amendment ) bill, has impacted two acts:

“The Hindu marriage act, 1955

[ mutual consent- section 13(B) sub section (2) ]4
[ irretrievable breakdown of marriage - section 13(C), (D), (E) ]”

“The Special marriage act, 1954

[ mutual consent- section 28 sub section (2) ]
[ irretrievable breakdown of marriage- section 28(A), (B), (C) ]”

 “mutual consent”
According to the new amended bill of marriage law, 2013, it allows the requirement
of only one party to present the petition for divorce on the grounds of mutual consent
under “Hindu marriage act, 1955 and special marriage act, 1954”

 “Irretrievable breakdown of marriage”

The new bill allows both the husband or the wife to seek for divorce on the grounds of
irretrievable breakdown of marriage. But a condition is applied to it, i.e the necessity
to live without each other for a minimum period of 3 years before seeking the divorce
on such grounds

However, the wife has the right to disagree with the court’s decision to provide
divorce to the husband on the basis that such a condition shall lead to financial

“Provided that on an application being made by both the parties, the court may reduce the period specified under this sub-section to a lesser
period and the court may waive off the requirement for moving the motion by both the parties, if it is satisfied that the parties to the
marriage are not in a position to reconcile their differences”

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 hardship. “[ section 13(D)5 under Hindu marriage act, 1955 and 28(B) 6 under Special
marriage act, 1954 ]”

To summarise, the “Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013” portrays marriage legislation as
altruistic by eliminating the waiting period for mutual agreement divorce and inserting "no
fault" or "irretrievable collapse" as the only basis for divorce. It would be a huge help to
many litigants who are having trouble getting divorced owing to procedural and legal issues.
However, the above bill takes consideration only two acts, leaving behind the others which
can create a disparity. Along with this, conferring the right to oppose the divorce by only the
female spouse proves to be a gender biased rule, which will be against men, neglecting
equality for all.
It can thus be inferred  that if the above solutions and alternatives are considered, the Bill
might prove to be revolutionary in the history of Indian law

“Where the wife is the respondent to a petition for the dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce under section 13C, she may oppose the
grant of a decree on the ground that the dissolution of the marriage will result in grave financial hardship to her and that it would in all the
circumstances, be wrong to dissolve the marriage”
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“Where the wife is the respondent to a petition for the dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce under section 28A, she may oppose the
grant of a decree on the ground that the dissolution of the marriage will result in grave financial hardship to her and that it would, in all the
circumstances, be wrong to dissolve the marriage”