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the loopholes that remain perhaps call for a more coherent reading of what rights need to be secured for all the parties involved in case a family unit breaks down, there is still a gap between the law as it exists in the statute books and everyday realities.

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many families still live in joint family arrangements, with the various inhabitants of the property not enjoying clearly demarcated right, there is a whole jurisprudence that has evolved around the Hindu Undivided Family and maintenance will have to work hard to find its way in.

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The owner of the property, even during the subsistence of the marriage, is the person who paid and bought the property and not the spousal unit.

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However, although the maintenance for the children has been made ‘consistent’ with the ‘financial capacity’ of the parties to the marriage, the level of maintenance to be secured for the wife has been left to the discretion of the courts

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The statutory articulation of maintenance for the family is a step in the direction of ensuring that children’s rights are made enforceable and the financial responsibility is to be borne by all able parties

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the duty of the judge to ensure the adequate maintenance of the children in the marriage and makes explicit mention of those with special needs – again a long overdue clarification and confirmation

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The Court would then have the right to dismiss the petition or ensure that such hardship is eliminated, the husband has not been given such a corresponding right.

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As a safeguard against misuse of this provision, the wife has been allowed to contest a divorce on this ground if it would cause her grave financial hardship

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women ignorant of their rights would face much the same situation before an unsympathetic judge as they faced prior to the passage of the amendment, since knowledge of the law remains low

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Corruption within the judicial system, male biases, gender insensitivity, should make us doubt whether we can afford to trust these institutions blindly. In addition, as with all reform, legal empowerment on paper often does not translate into actual empowerment

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court gives ground for the fear, often raised by women’s groups, that the courts are not always sympathetic to the plight of women, or their desire for a certain degree of financial independence

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Finally, the Law Commission on its own took up the issue again and submitted the suo moto report in 2009. This seems to have propelled the amendment through, giving the matter the necessary final push.

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1978 Indian Law Commission Report had spoken in favor of these reforms almost 32 years ago. Likewise countless Supreme Court and High Court judgments had consistently echoed the demand for these reforms over the past three decades.

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It admits to a rather mind-boggling scale of delay in acknowledging that the legislative recognition of irretrievable breakdown as a clear ground for divorce was required to reconnect the law with existing social realities.

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The amendments to the Acts mentioned above allow for a change in the procedure of obtaining a divorce when the marriage has irretrievably broken down. In addition, they try to ensure that, at the very least, maintenance arrangements are more than a mere token.

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The amendments passed this year affect only those who are governed by the Hindu Act, including Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs, and those who marry under the Special Marriage Act

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parties can always opt for the secular, the religious law is often the one applied de facto.

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laws are based on a religious group affect only a section of the population and changed for the better also move at different speeds

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The recent amendment to the Hindu Marriage act 1955, Its one of the few that is based on religious affiliation

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PqmEKjd8-4wGrBbQXIjIsmXXIUyzxRokarSiKdO5GI0/edit

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sr76JgKF44VEs3woKxcbNBAllL57E6bCE5XLWT3jjVI/edit