Editing Divorce (section)

===India===
On a national level, the [[Special Marriage Act, 1954|Special Marriage Act]], passed in 1954, is an inter-religious marriage law permitting Indian nationals to marry and divorce irrespective of their religion or faith. The [[Hindu Marriage Act]], 1955 legally permitted divorce to Hindus and other communities who chose to marry under these acts. The Indian Divorce Act 1869<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gujhealth.gov.in/images/pdf/legis/divorce-act1869.pdf |title=Indian Divorce Act -Bare Act |year=1869 |website=Gujhealth.gov.in |access-date=2014-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421015224/http://www.gujhealth.gov.in/images/pdf/legis/divorce-act1869.pdf |archive-date=2013-04-21 |url-status=live }}</ref> is the law relating to the divorce of person professing the Christian religion. Divorce can be sought by a husband or wife on grounds including adultery, cruelty, desertion for two years, religious conversion, mental abnormality, venereal disease, and leprosy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/hindumarriageact/s13.htm |title=''Vaklino.com'' - "The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955" (Section 13) |website=Vakilno1.com |access-date=2012-03-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401144955/http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/hindumarriageact/s13.htm |archive-date=2012-04-01 }}</ref> Divorce is also available based on mutual consent of both the spouses, which can be filed after at least one year of separated living. Mutual consent divorce cannot be appealed, and the law mandates a minimum period of six months (from the time divorce is applied for) for divorce to be granted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://indiankanoon.org/doc/439618/ |title=''indiankanoon.org'' - "Section 13B in the Hindu Marriage Act" |website=Indiankanoon.org |access-date=2012-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402034011/http://indiankanoon.org/doc/439618/ |archive-date=2012-04-02 |url-status=live }}</ref> Contested divorce is when one of the spouses is not willing to divorce the other; in such a circumstance divorce is granted only on certain grounds according to the Hindu marriage act of 1955. While a Muslim husband can unilaterally bring an end to the marriage by pronouncing talaq,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://parting.hpage.co.in/muslim-divorce-judgements_56052365.html |title=Muslim divorce judgements |website=Parting.hpage.co.in |access-date=2014-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222142037/http://parting.hpage.co.in/muslim-divorce-judgements_56052365.html |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Muslim women must go to court, claiming any of the grounds provided under the [[Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939|Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chdslsa.gov.in/right_menu/act/pdf/muslim.pdf|title=Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act - bare Act|website=Chdslsa.gov.in|access-date=2014-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221172043/http://chdslsa.gov.in/right_menu/act/pdf/muslim.pdf|archive-date=2014-02-21|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the first major family law reform in the last decade, the Supreme Court of India banned the Islamic practice of "Triple Talaq" (divorce by uttering of the "Talaq" word thrice by the husband). The landmark Supreme Court of India judgment was welcomed by women activists across India.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/22/india-supreme-court-bans-islamic-instant-divorce-triple-talaq|title=India court bans Islamic instant divorce in huge win for women's rights|last=Safi|first=Michael|date=2017-08-22|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=2017-11-06|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116194439/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/22/india-supreme-court-bans-islamic-instant-divorce-triple-talaq|archive-date=2017-11-16|url-status=live}}</ref>

Official figures of divorce rates are not available, but it has been estimated that 1 in 100 or another figure of 11 in 1,000 marriages in India end in divorce.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10284416 |title=India moves to make it easier to divorce |access-date=2011-09-11 |publisher=BBC News |date=2010-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825083800/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10284416 |archive-date=2011-08-25 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Various communities are governed by specific marital legislation, distinct to Hindu Marriage Act, and consequently have their own divorce laws:

* The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/122564/ |title=The Parsi Marriage And Divorce Act, 1936 |website=Indiankanoon.org |access-date=2012-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326174531/http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/122564/ |archive-date=2012-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage act, 1939<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1458498/ |title=The Dissolution Of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 |website=Indiankanoon.org |access-date=2012-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326174535/http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1458498/ |archive-date=2012-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/660591/ |title=The Foreign Marriage Act, 1969 |website=Indiankanoon.org |access-date=2012-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326174651/http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/660591/ |archive-date=2012-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986<ref>{{cite book|author1=V.R.Krishna Iyer Retd. Judge|title=Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986|year=1987|publisher=EBC|isbn=978-81-7012-349-1|pages=1–166}}</ref>

An amendment to the marriage laws to allow divorce based on "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" (as alleged by one of the spouses) is under consideration in India.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chandran |first=Rina |url=http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2010/06/11/an-easier-end-to-unhappy-marriages-in-india/ |title=An easier end to unhappy marriages in India? &#124; India Insight |website=Blogs.reuters.com |date=2010-06-11 |access-date=2012-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508165627/http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2010/06/11/an-easier-end-to-unhappy-marriages-in-india/ |archive-date=2011-05-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In June 2010, the Union Cabinet of India approved the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill 2010, which, if cleared by Parliament, would establish "irretrievable breakdown" as a new ground for divorce.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=62464 |title=Press Information Bureau English Releases |website=Pib.nic.in |access-date=2012-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119204450/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=62464 |archive-date=2012-01-19 |url-status=live }}</ref> Under the proposed amendment, the court before proceeding to the merits of the case must be satisfied by the evidences produced that parties have been living apart for a continuous period of not less than three years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.ipleaders.in/irretrievable-break-down-of-marriage-as-a-ground-for-divorce-in-india |title=Irretrievable break down of marriage as a ground for divorce in India |date=3 December 2014 |publisher=iPleaders |access-date=2014-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209141854/http://blog.ipleaders.in/irretrievable-break-down-of-marriage-as-a-ground-for-divorce-in-india/ |archive-date=2014-12-09 |url-status=live }}</ref>