Kerala HC urges Parliament to let Christian women file divorce from home district
The Kerala High Court has urged Parliament to amend the Christian divorce law, allowing women to file divorce petitions from their place of residence. The court highlighted a disparity between the Divorce Act, 1869, and other marriage statutes.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, in a single-judge order on June 30, observed that the current law lacks a provision for wives to file petitions where they reside. The court said Parliament should 'earnestly consider' adding such a clause. However, it refrained from rewriting the law, calling it a legislative task.
The case involved a woman married in Kasaragod in 2011 who faced severe domestic violence. After leaving her matrimonial home, she moved to her parents' home in Wayanad. When she sought divorce at the Family Court in Kalpetta, her petition was returned for lack of territorial jurisdiction under Section 3(3) of the Divorce Act.
Section 3(3) restricts filing to the district where the marriage was solemnised or where the couple last resided together. The court noted that for Hindu and civil marriages, Parliament amended the law in 2003 to allow wives to file from their residence, but the Divorce Act was left untouched.
The court rejected arguments that the omission is unconstitutional, stating personal laws can differ among communities. It suggested the petitioner could seek transfer of her case under Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code.
The ruling follows a 2024 division bench judgment in Eldho Varghese v Liya Jose, which held that Section 3(3) applies only to initial filing, not subsequent transfers.
