NEW DELHI: In a remarkable development, SC agreed on Wednesday to entertain PILs seeking uniform motifs divorce and uniformity in granting alimony for women regardless of their religious affiliations.
Hearing the matter, Chief Justice SA Bobde said: “We are entertaining the PILs with great caution.”
The higher court issued a notice to the Center on this matter.
Senior Defenders Pinky Anand and Meenakshi Arora argued in favor of the PILs presented by attorney Ashwini Upadhyay.
The petitioner said that the Supreme Court had long ago insisted that the government strive to incorporate the Uniform Civil Code, but so far nothing has happened. The CJI-led Supreme Court court was initially reluctant to consider the petition, saying it is the government that must act on the issue.
Anand and Arora said that the court must intervene to protect women’s rights. “Religions may treat women differently under personal law sanctions, but when religious customs violate the fundamental right to equality and non-discrimination, the court must intervene to protect women’s rights,” they said .
Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains must file for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955. Muslims, Christians, and Parsis have their own personal laws. Couples belonging to different religions have to file for divorce under the Special Marriage Law of 1956, “the statement read. If either member of the couple is a foreign national, they must file for divorce under the Law Foreign Marriage Act 1969. Therefore, the grounds for divorce are neither gender nor religion neutral, the statement said.
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