Women to get share in property after divorce

Amid the opposition demand to make divorce more women-friendly, the government on Thursday approved fresh amendments in a bill pending in Rajya Sabha to give the wife a clearly defined share in husband's immovable residential property.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, took up new amendments to the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.

The government also decided to retain the mandatory six-month cooling-off period, which the bill had proposed to do away with in case of divorce with mutual consent. However, to waive the cooling period, both the parties will have to move the application together.

'In other words, the application to reduce the period can't be moved by one party,' sources said after the meeting.

Once the divorce is granted, the woman will have to move an application to get share in her husband's property as part of the settlement. Keeping in mind the demand of the opposition, it has now been decided to give the wife and children a clearly-defined share in the husband's 'immovable residential property' in case of a split.

Sensing the mood of the House, Law Minister Salman Khurshid had deferred his reply to the Bill on 2 May in the Upper House.

'The amendments clarify and amplify provisions to be made in case of divorce,' the sources said. The Law Ministry Bill seeks to further amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954.