Pros And Cons Of Christian Divorce

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Why is customary Christian divorce not allowed in India?
Divorce is a legal separation of a husband and a wife which is brought in effect by the judgement of a court. In India, to recognize one’s marriage as dissolved, one needs to file for a divorce decree in the civil court. If the court approves, then only the divorce would be considered valid. However, in certain customary laws of different religions, divorce is considered valid by performing their customary practices for divorce without passing a decree for it in a civil court.
But such divorces which are brought in effect by personal laws are not allowed in India. To give legal status to the divorce, the parties need to get their divorce done in the civil courts according to the law by which they are governed. This paper covers why civil divorce is given a preference over customary practices for divorce having a focus on Christian religion and what is the status of divorces granted by church courts.

Christian matrimonial issues in India are governed by colonial-era laws such as the Christian Marriage Act 1872, the Christian Divorce Act 1869 and the Succession Act 1925. In Christianity, those who follows Roman Catholic Church are governed by Canon law (Customary law of Roman Catholics). …show more content…

Former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee represented the petitioner in this case. Many arguments were made during the proceedings of the case. However, the strongest argument presented by the petitioner side was the allowance of Muslims having right to divorce by pronouncing Triple Talaq without approaching a formal court. The court rejected the above-mentioned argument. Court in this petition used the precedent case of Molly Joseph v. George Sebastian, ruling of which was done in the year 1996. The ruling of this judgement was welcomed and favored by the women’s groups of the church

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