Hindu Vivek Kendra
A RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE PROMOTION OF HINDUTVA
   
 
 
«« Back
Kerala shelves Christian divorce bill after uproar

Kerala shelves Christian divorce bill after uproar

Suchandana Gupta
The Telegraph
January 5, 2000

Title: Kerala shelves Christian divorce bill after uproar
Author: Suchandana Gupta
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: January 5, 200

The Left front government in Kerala has shelved a divorce Bill amendment with parallels to a uniform civil code after the move threatened to pit the state against the church.

The amendment to the Indian Divorce Act was intended at deleting a provision which said every decree for dissolution of a Christian marriage by a district judge has to be confirmed by the high court. The rule, which does not apply to Hindu or Muslim marriages, delays legalising a Christian divorce by three to five years.

The E.K. Nayanar government, keen to shed its anti-church image created by a series of clashes involving organisations affiliated to the CPM, had lined up the Bill as a Christmas gift.

Christians account for over 23 per cent of the population in Kerala and nearly 5,000 divorce cases of the community are pending before courts now. Two high court rulings had also suggested that the divorce Act be amended.

Besides, the state government was in a hurry to upstage the BJP-led Centre which, too, was planning a similar Bill and had started sounding Christian bodies. Hence, the state introduced the Indian Divorce Kerala Amendment Bill in the Assembly on December 16, a week before Christmas.

However, as the church - which exhorts that "let no man separate what God has united" - and a section of the powerful Christian political lobby, turned restive, the government referred the amendment to a select committee. This effectively puts the Bill on the backburner.

The Bill was welcomed by majority of the Christian MLAs, but objections were raised by a group of Roman Catholic members. Prominent among the critics was K.M. Mani, a former minister and now leader of the Kerala Congress (Mani) faction, a constituent in the state's Congress-led opposition front.

Mani made a sweeping suggestion to legalise the Christian Canon Law and demanded that the Christian Ecclesiastical Court's verdict be regarded as a ground for divorce, along with impotency, consanguinity, lunacy and forceful marriage mentioned in the Act.

"We have no objection to the amendment. Our concern is only to make the amendment more comprehensive so that it does not conflict with Canon laws," Mani told The Telegraph.

The differences of opinion between the Roman Catholic church and the civil courts on divorce are glaring.

"The Catholic church never permits a divorce or remarriage. The Ecclesiastical Court can only declare an annulment of marriage on grave grounds. The government's main consideration is divorce, the very concept of which is opposed by the Church," according Father C. Joseph, the head of the Ecclesiastical Court here.

The ratio of annulments declared by the Ecclesiastical Courts is one in a thousand cases brought to the Church.

When a civil court grants a divorce, it is not recognised by the Catholic church. "Throughout the world, the Catholic principle is the same," explained auxiliary Bishop Joshua Mar Ignatheus.

"Divorce granted by civil authorities are not accepted by the church. A remarriage of such couples in the Catholic church is out of question." The marriage is unaccepted and the wards of such a couple are "not Christians".

Conversely, civil courts do not accept the verdict of the church. An marriage annulled by a religious court is an illegal divorce in the eyes of civil law.

Mani's suggestion is to include a fourth clause with an additional ground "that the marriage has been declared null and void under the provisions of the Christian church or in accordance with the rules and regulations of the church to which the parties belong."

However, other Roman Catholic MLAs differed. P. C. George of the Kerala Congress (Joseph) faction, a constituent of the ruling front, said if Mani's demand is conceded, Catholics will have no option but to go to the church court for annulment.

"Christians will wholeheartedly accept the amendment. How can Mani being a responsible political figure even ask for legalising Canon Laws? Next someone will ask for Shariat and then the Upanishads. Whenever there is a conflict between Canon Law and civil law, the civil law takes over," George added.

The church does not agree. "The country certainly has the right to totally control my activities, but only those which affect the external forum of man. The case is different when it concerns my conscience, my internal forum. A marriage for us is like baptism. It binds two people in the presence of Christ. It is eternal," Father Joseph said.

Having burnt its fingers, the state is now waiting for the Centre to move a comprehensive amendment.
 



Back                          Top

«« Back
 
 
 
  Search Articles
 
  Special Annoucements