PIL moved in SC seeking 'uniform grounds for divorce' for all citizens

A PIL has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking uniform guidelines for divorce highlighting that the anomalies in the divorce system based on religion, caste, place of birth etc. were "unconstitutional". The PIL by BJP leader and Supreme Court Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has prayed that the court frame guidelines for 'Uniform Grounds of Divorce' for all citizens while taking into account the different laws of divorce and practices of all religions in the backdrop of accepted international conventions.

"The injury caused to the public is large because divorce is among the most traumatic misfortunes for men and women but even after 73 years of independence, divorce procedures are very complex and neither gender neutral nor religion neutral,'' read the PIL.

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Taking into account, Articles 14, 15, 21, which provide equality before the court and law and right to life along with Article 39 which asks the state to secure that men-women equally and Article 44 which directs the state to implement a uniform civil code for all citizens, the PIL has prayed that 'Uniform Grounds of Divorce' for all citizens be put in place. It also states how divorce procedures are neither "gender-neutral" nor "religion-neutral" making such systems "discriminatory" and "complex" for the common man or woman seeking a divorce. 

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

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