A family is a group of people who are linked to one another and share things like love, caring, customs, and standards. The constitution has given a consistent civil law, i.e., family law, to safeguard these practices and culture (set of rules that are in practice regarding family matters). However, these cultures and customs have evolved into something new. The developments in family laws over the years are discussed in this article. The fundamental motivation for the move is to enhance gender equality in the legal framework that governs family life.
India’s Marriage Laws Have Changed: “Legal state, condition, or connection of one man and one woman united in law for life, or until divorced, for the discharge to each other and the society of the obligations legally obligatory on people whose association is founded on the distinction of sex,” according to the dictionary. Social conventions, illiteracy, and the perception of women as a financial burden are all factors that influence child marriage. In order to promote equality, the government has now enacted a measure to raise the age of marriage for females from 18 to 21 years old.
Divorce may be described as “the process of terminating the legal obligations and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage.” Talaaq-e-biddat, also known as Triple Talaaq, is one of the most contentious divorces in Muslim law. The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937 made this practice permissible. The Supreme Court, however, found triple talaq unlawful in the case of Shayara Bano V. Union of India & Ors. in 2017. The Indian Parliament enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill in 2019. This bill aims to preserve Muslim women’s rights and prevent them from quick divorce by abolishing the practice of divorce by their spouse reciting three times talaq.
Adultery as a cause for divorce: In Joseph Shine V. Union of India, the Supreme Court knocked down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, thus decriminalizing adultery. It can now be grounds for divorce or judicial separation solely in civil cases, not as a criminal infraction under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Sections 13 (1) and 10. In Hindu law, women have a claim to coparcenary property. The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005 was passed, giving women the same right to inherit ancestral property as mail coparceners. However, it remained unclear to what degree a daughter has rights to the coparcenary estate.
Indian family structure, roles, and customary values have evolved over time, and as a result, family-related legal provisions have evolved as well. The major goal of this shift is to promote equality or eliminate prejudice by providing men and women equal rights. Some new provisions have altered India’s past, but this is insufficient.