Marriage Laws bill divides Cabinet; referred to GoM

The controversial Marriage Laws bill today divided the Union Cabinet over a clause dealing with woman's right to husband's property after divorce, forcing the matter to be referred to a Group of Ministers.
The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saw ministers expressing differing views on the clause which seeks to provide a share to a woman in her husband's residential property, including inherited and 'inheritable' premises, in case of divorce, sources said.
The clause in the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill is being opposed by the Women and Child Development Ministry which has written to the Law Ministry, saying it could lead to further trouble for the woman in divorce.

The issue dominated most of the time during the two-hour-long Cabinet meeting with most of the ministers speaking on the subject.
Briefing reporters on the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the issue was referred to a Group of Ministers to sort out "one or two clauses".
He sought to downplay the divisions in the Cabinet over the issue, saying, "When 30 thinking men and women present different opinions, different opinions does not mean a difference of opinion" on a subject.

"Views are expressed in a Cabinet and after expressing views, the Prime Minister takes the final decision. In this case the matter has been referred to a Group of Ministers to look at one or two clauses of the Bill," he said.

After being passed by the Lok Sabha in 2011, the Bill has come up before the Cabinet on three occasions with various changes. It is pending in the Rajya Sabha.
The amendment bill, which seeks to alter the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954, introduces the option of divorce on grounds of "irretrievable breakdown of marriage.