Deccan Chronicle

New law gives wife share in property

- DC CORRESPOND­ENT NEW DELHI, MARCH 23

The Union Cabinet on Friday gave its approval to the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill 2010, entitling a woman to have a share in her husband’s properties. Adopted children too will enjoy the same rights as biological offspring in terms of inheritanc­e and other matters.

The UPA government had introduced the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha in August 2010. The bill was referred to the parliament­ary standing committee on law and justice to solicit wider feedback from all stakeholde­rs. The committee, in its report, had opposed doing away with the waiting period before a joint motion to annul a marriage. The committee’s report also supported the proposal to make “irretrieva­ble breakdown of marriage” a new ground for divorce.

The Cabinet on Friday partially accepted the com- mittee’s recommenda­tions, leaving it to the courts to decide the “cooling off” period before both parties can move a motion for divorce, sources said. The Cabinet also approved the move to give adopted children the same rights as biological offspring in case their parents opt for a divorce.

The Union Cabinet at its meeting on Friday approved the proposal that a woman should have a share in the property of her husband in case of a divorce. However, it decided that the courts would decide on case-by-case basis quantum of share that a woman should get.

Also, a wife can oppose a husband’s plea for a divorce under the new “irretrieva­ble breakdown of marriage” clause but the same will not be available for a husband in the case of his wife moving court on the same grounds.

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