KOCHI: The High Court has said that a woman who has been pronounced talaq under the Muslim Personal Law does not need to go to the court to record the matter in the marriage register of local institutions. "There is no special rule for registering divorce. That is inherent in the law. So the marriage officer himself can enter the information in the register. It does not require a court order," the court observed in a petition filed by a woman from Thalassery.

Men can remarry if divorced through talaq. But for women, divorce must be recorded in the register for remarriage. As there is no rule for this, they have to approach the court. Justice PV Kunjikrishnan's order is in view of this discrimination. On the petition of the woman, the court directed to send a notice to the husband who pronounced talaq and make changes to the register within a month.

The marriage of the petitioner was on 30th December 2012 under personal law. It was registered as per rules. On October 30, 2014, the husband pronounced talaq while he was abroad. The mahallu committee also issued a divorce certificate. The High Court was approached because the petitioner filed an application to change the register but it was rejected on the ground that there was no rule.

'The law is an ass'

The court observed that the Marriage Registration Act, 2008 was deficient and the legislature should try to address it. A copy of the order was also directed to be given to the chief secretary for this purpose. The order also quoted Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist saying that 'the law is an ass' to explain why the law is often misunderstood.