India is a developing country which tackles the high-end challenges of the world. The law of the land declares that we are a free country with a constitution that is - of the people, by the people, for the people. We live and abide by the values of peace, harmony, and unity in diversity in this country.

However, the archaic matrimonial laws and divorce proceedings make freedom and independence totally unreal in India. The toil and trauma of going through a divorce can take many years of being caged by the law, halting one’s life and progress for years.

Please sign this petition to change the Matrimonial Laws in India.

https://www.change.org/matrimonylawindia  

India’s Judicial Procedures for Divorce need Amendment on Priority

In my experience of going through a divorce, the judicial procedures in India unequivocally counter the human and constitutional rights of people. The present law violates: 

a)     The Right to Equality  

·        The Hindu marriage law and practices are indecisive on the distribution of matrimonial assets (movable and immovable) at the time of divorce and do not give equal rights to women. Though I have contributed equally to our joint household and finances for 9 years, I am deprived of my equal rights to our joint matrimonial property. The divorce laws in India are more than 40 years old which assume that women are financially dependent on men that does not represent the current majority in India.

·        In my case the matrimonial assets have been built by collective efforts of me and my husband. I believe it’s a reality of today’s times as both women and men shoulder equal financial responsibilities for the household in addition to women nurturing and supporting the family. But the matrimonial act and the case laws fail to recognize this for a definite directive such as equal distribution of matrimonial assets at the time of separation as commonly prevalent in other countries across the globe.

·        In utter greed my husband and his family ignored my financial contributions to our joint household to deprive me financially. I have been facing acute hardships as he has been holding my funds in the property for many years so much so that I could not complete my design degree that I started to switch to an alternate career I am passionate about.

·        My husband and father-in-law, who is a signatory to our matrimonial property agreement, have not registered the property in the past 10 years to with-hold my hard-earned income and financial security; abusing me emotionally, financially. Law of the land in India protects a father-in-law’s right to the matrimonial property just because he is a signatory to the property agreement while having no proof of his investment. But does not give equal rights to the daughter in law in either matrimonial or ancestral property if she wants to get out of an ugly relationship.  

·        Hurt, emotional and financial abuse continues in the courts, slowly paralyzing and decaying my life. 

b)    Right Against Exploitation  

·        The legal procedures do not follow any firm statutory mandate on settlement or time to conclude the divorce cases. Therefore, the divorce conflicts continue endlessly with ample room for one party to exploit the other. My divorce is being dragged in the courts of law for the past 10 years for want of justice on joint matrimonial property settlement as the husband wants to deprive me of my own share.

·        During litigation, we had many buyers for the property, but my husband disputes the sale price or does not come forward to sell the property, nor does he buy out my share to close the divorce matter between us. He even refused to sign the divorce papers till I give up my rights to our joint matrimonial property just to make me suffer for disclosing his adultery to his family.

·        People are put under duress by the law to prove the fault grounds even though both parties have been separated for many years. The petitioner must prove fault grounds on part of the other spouse because Indian law does not recognize ‘No-Fault Divorce’ except in Supreme Court.

·        Undue mudslinging happens on either side to prove the fault grounds deepening the trauma for the contesting parties wanting to come out of a bad relationship.

·        The accused tries to prolong the matters to avoid the fault grounds from being proven; pressurizing the other party to quit for selfish interests to protect reputation or assets.

·        The detective agency network is unregulated in India to gather the grounds to prove the fault grounds for divorce deepening the issues.

·        To legally separate from a man of conflicting morals, the court procedures have taken more than 9 years and my cases are only halfway through. I am being made to run pillar to post to prove my pleadings.

·        There is misrepresentation in courts, wrong orders get passed which take many years to rectify. The rectification procedures are tedious and long drawn, and tire the parties mentally, physically.

·        I was not able to continue with my corporate career due to these struggles.  The courts haven’t offered adequate compensation to provide for my health and living expenses commensurate with our standard of living leaving me financially destitute.

·        A person’s life is reduced to an ugly litigation in the hands of the legal system and long drawn procedures instead of bringing peace and harmony through justice. 

c)     The Right to Constitutional Remedies  

·        Indian matrimonial laws do not affirm timelines for divorce closure which lies mostly in the hands of the contesting counsels and discretion of judges who keep changing every 2 years repeating the cycle of misery for the contesting parties.

·        I was married for 9 years and have been suffering in the courts for over 9 years now, prolonging my agony for a supportive companionship.

·        I do not have the freedom to move out of the city in which cases are filed due to frequent court hearings; do not have the freedom to start a family again; do not have the freedom to let go of my unpleasant past to feel free again. The legal cage has brought my life to a halt, physically, mentally, emotionally. I am suffering in the courts for many years, for no fault of mine, except that I want freedom from a marriage gone bad.

·        Women suffer more as they have a shorter procreative age. Men purposely drag the litigation practically making the law absent and inefficient.

·        The proceedings and procedures lack clarity, besides not being fair. My husband’s lawyers put in their best efforts to delay the case in courts, drag the mediations, and it is discouraging that when the case came up, the hearings are often adjourned.

·        The stronger party drags matters in the court to their advantage pressurizing the other to give up their rights.

·        Misrepresentation in hearings and matters are simply passed over by judges offering no remedies.

·        Judges in family courts change every two years making the process slower and difficult.

d)    Right to Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment  

·        Emotional and economic abuse is inflicted due to unjust and lengthy procedures, mostly women suffer. For example, the opponent counsel has been dragging my cross-examination for many years, and there is no mandate on the judge by law to close the cross-examination stage.

·        Women face the emotional pressures and stress of the court proceedings keeping their painful past alive for many years, and this affects their health and wellbeing.

·        I grieve today not just for the loss of a companion. More than that I grieve for not being able to put the past behind to move on. My life has cruised painfully from 36 to 45 years of age, traveling to courts almost every week; this took a toll on my health (from menorrhagia to menopause) with little hope of having a family and child ever again.

·        My career went down the tubes because of excessive stress and pressure of proceedings in the courts. I had to file the cases because my husband was out of India initially and must prove my pleadings which the other party keeps dragging. 

·        Being single, I am keen on adopting a child for which the adoption agency requires that I show substantial savings. But I have no access to my own earnings which are withheld by a cunning and conspiring husband, who is supported by his father to deprive me of my rights to matrimonial assets.

·        Added to this is the suffering of my parents and immediate family members. My mother and father left their hometown so that they could support me, and we all went through the same grind in courts.

e)     Right to Life, Freedom, Peace, and Personal Security  

·        Years of litigation has unsettled my life and sense of security bringing my life to a halt.

·        Career takes a hit due to mental/emotional turmoil in the courts.

·        The long drawn legal procedures and trials are keeping the past wounds alive in my life without any foreseen end.

·        To prove my case, I am required to keep going down memory lane to memorize and relate the painful events of the past to reproduce them in the courts. Even though they have lost their meaning in my life after 10 years of separation.

·        Utter frustration descends upon me as nothing happens in the courts, except that of degrading personal and professional life. Aspirations of people to live a happy, peaceful personal and professional life are compromised.

·        Deprived of my personal liberties, finances and motherhood, the right to a woman’s life has been breached on account of misconduct of my husband, his family, and the legal procedures. The Indian legal system does not take notice of these changes in the life cycle of a woman and the impact it has on her health and social status.

The Trauma in Courts Continues

How do I prove my agony? Plead to an inefficient legal system with outdated matrimonial laws and procedures that are blind?

Years go by, judges change, lawyers change, but one thing remains constant - the big cage in my life in which I travel from home to the courts and back.

I call upon separating and suffering couples, lawmakers, NGOs, human rights foundations to come forward to amend the Matrimonial Laws in India.

Proposed changes in the Matrimonial Laws:

1.     Amend the procedural delays in courts of law. All matrimonial litigations, with or without mutual consent, to be mandatorily concluded within 5 years.

2.     Proving fault grounds in the courts leads to mudslinging, degrading of people’s lives, delays and unwanted dragging of cases for many years. If both the parties’ consent to separate, allow courts to grant the divorce; even though parties may have disagreements regarding assets/ child rights etc.

3.     Amend the matrimonial law to order equal distribution of matrimonial assets for grant of divorce.

Please sign and endorse appeal to bring a change in matrimonial laws for the betterment of our lives in India.

Comment, Share and Like to build a collective voice for change. You may propose your own changes to the matrimonial laws.   

To join hands with me for filing a Public Interest Petition in this context, please email beeingyou@gmail.com.

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