News Analysis India

Tag: Divorce

  • UP woman seeks divorce after discovering husband’s baldness

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Remember the character of Balmukund Shukla alias Bala in Ayushman Khurana-starrer Bala? A redux of the plot was seen in Meerut on Wednesday when a woman came to the family court seeking a divorce from her husband for hiding his baldness from her.

    The incident came up in the western UP district adjoining Delhi. A woman made her husband’s baldness a reason to seek a divorce from him.

    She said in her plea that she wanted a divorce as her husband concealed his baldness by wearing a wig prior to their marriage.

    The couple had tied the nuptial knot in January 2020 in Ghaziabad. But a year, she came to know about his baldness. In fact, the issue came to light during the process of counselling of the couple at the marriage counselling centre set up at Meerut police lines on Wednesday. 

    The reconciliation efforts are mandatory in cases of divorce.

    The woman allegedly told the counsellor that before their marriage, the man had thick hair but a year after their marriage, she came to know that he was bald and that he actually used to wear a wig.

    The woman also claimed that the man kept her in darkness about his baldness. She told the counsellor on Wednesday that she wanted the divorce as she felt betrayed.

    She alleged that he kept it a closely guarded secret for over a year but a few days ago, she saw him without the wig only to discover that he was completely bald. “I feel embarrassed in front of my friends and relatives many times. It is difficult for me to live with him anymore,” she said.

    However, the officials at the marriage counselling centre tried to placate her and dissuaded her from taking divorce for such a trivial issue but the woman remained adamant.

    The couple was given another date for the second round of counselling with the hope that the woman will get a change of heart and mind by then.

  • Kim, Kanye’s divorce papers reveal ‘irreconcilable differences’ as reason for split

    By IANS
    LOS ANGELES: Socialite Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West are going through a divorce and their papers have reportedly revealed why the two have ended their marriage. “Irreconcilable differences” has been cited as the reason behind the split in the divorce papers.

    The documents, obtained by thesun.co.uk, show that the divorce has been filed by Kim and Kanye is mentioned as the respondent. The latter has been very cooperative with the divorce proceedings.

    However, the date of separation has yet not been finalised by the court.

    The papers also revealed that Kim has filed for the physical custody of their four children – North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three and one-year-old Psalm.

    Kim has also requested that both her and Kanye’s ability to award spousal support be terminated.

    The duo got married in 2014.

  • Muslim Law Board moves SC opposing plea seeking ‘uniform grounds of divorce’ for all citizens

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has moved the Supreme Court against a plea seeking “uniform grounds of divorce” for all citizens of the country, keeping with the spirit of the Constitution and international conventions.

    The AIMPLB has opposed the plea filed by advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking uniform grounds of divorce on the basis that personal laws cannot be tested on the anvil of Articles 14, 15, 21 and 44 of the Constitution.

    “The applicant would like to submit that the expression and ‘Custom and Usage’ in Article 13 of the Constitution does not include faith of a religious denomination embedded in personal laws,” the plea said while seeking impleadment in the petition filed by Upadhyay. 

    “The Constituent Assembly was aware of the distinction between ‘personal law’ and the ‘custom and usage’ and chose advisedly to exclude personal law and include custom and usage in Article 13 of the Constitution,” it said.

    The Board in its plea submitted that the laws relating to marriage and divorce amongst the Hindus themselves are not uniform and thus the customs and practices have been protected by the statute itself.

    The top court on December 16 last year had issued notice to the Centre on the plea filed by Upadhyay.

    His plea sought directions to the Centre to take steps to remove anomalies in divorce laws and make them uniform for all citizens, without any prejudice on the basis of religion, race, cast, sex or place of birth.

    “The court may declare that the discriminatory grounds of divorce are violative of Articles 14, 15, 21 and frame guidelines for ‘Uniform Grounds of Divorce’ for all citizens,” it said.

    While Article 13 of the Constitution deals with laws that are inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights, Article 14 guarantees equality before law to all citizens.

    Article 21 pertains to the protection of life and personal liberty whereas Article 44 talks about a uniform civil code for the citizens.

    “Alternatively, this court may direct the Law Commission to examine the laws of divorce and suggest ‘Uniform Grounds of Divorce’ for all citizens in the spirit of Articles 14, 15, 21, 44 within three months, while considering international laws and international conventions,” the plea said.

    Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains have to seek divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Muslims, Christians and Parsis have their own personal laws.

    A couple belonging to different religions has to seek divorce under the Special Marriage Act, 1956,” it said. If either partner is a foreign national then that person has to seek divorce under the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969.

      Hence, the grounds of divorce are neither gender neutral nor religion neutral, the plea said.

    The PIL said the “injury” caused to the public due to this is large because divorce is among the most traumatic misfortunes for both men and women, but even after 73 years of independence, divorce procedures are very complex in the country.