KOCHI: The High Court has struck out the clause that stipulates that Christian couples must wait for one year before they can move for a mutually accepted divorce petition. The court said that the clause is against constitutional values and against fundamental right.

The division bench consisting of Justice Muhammed Mushtaq and Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen was considering the appeal of a couple whose divorce petition was rejected by Ernakulam Family Court for not following the clause. The HC ordered that the couple’s divorce petition must be considered within two weeks and decided.

The petitioners had married in a Christian wedding on January 30th this year. When they found that they could not live together, they applied for a divorce petition on May 31st. Their petition was rejected citing the law pertaining to Christian marriages. According to the Divorce Law section 10(a) that says that a Christian couple cannot file a divorce petition within one year. The petitioners approached the HC against this order.

Earlier, the stipulation was that a couple could not file for a divorce before two years of marriage. This then was reduced to one year like the wedding laws of other religions. The time period was fixed so as to prevent submitting divorce petition in a fit of emotion. However, in rare cases the divorce petition can be considered before that said date, according to Special Marriage Act and Hindu marriage law.