LHC moved against ‘controversial’ Christian Divorce Act
Police ordered to produce girl who married a Christian.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the LHC would take up the matter on June 7. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Suffering at the hands of a ‘strict’ divorce condition in the Christian Divorce Act 1869, a citizen has brought the matter before the Lahore High Court (LHC) which has summoned the top law officer and the bishop of Lahore for assistance.
The matter is sensitive as the church says spouses are pre-destined and their unions are for eternity… the bonds of holy matrimony “cannot be broken, except on the charges of infidelity arising out of an adulterous act on the part of either spouse”.
Under Section 10 of the Christian Divorce Act, 1869, a man may seek dissolution of marriage only on the grounds of adultery by his wife. A woman, on the other hand, cannot seek divorce over adultery by her husband. She must show either bigamy with adultery, incestuous adultery, adultery coupled with sodomy, rape or bestiality, adultery coupled with cruelty, or adultery coupled with desertion for a period of two or more years.
Under Section 13 of the Act, no decree for divorce would be issued by the court if it learnt that the spouses have approached the court having consent to divorce.
Ground realities are bitter.
Due to this law, in most divorce cases men raise false charges of adultery against their wives. Secondly, many men who want to divorce their wives ‘convert’ to Islam to wriggle out of their marriage.
Such a convict is in great peril once those aware of his conversion to Islam learn that he has converted to Christianity after divorcing his wife.
Anybody can declare him an apostate and seek death penalty for him.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the LHC would take up the matter on June 7.
Amin Masih, a resident of Lahore, had submitted in his petition that a family suit of maintenance had been pending against him before a civil court. He said he had not been living happily with his wife for the last two years and he did not have good relations with his in-laws. He said it was not possible for him to continue the marriage. He said he wanted separation but the law required him to wrongfully accuse her of adultery. He requested the court to declare Section 10 of the Christian Divorce Act 1869 in contravention of the Constitution.
Faith and marriage
An LHC bench last week directed Sargodha police to produce a girl who it was told had married a Christian man and converted to Christianity. The court issued the order while hearing a bail petition by five relatives of the girl. They are accused of theft and entering the house of the groom as the couple and the groom’s family had gone into hiding after their marriage.
The court directed police to produce the girl after hearing the counsel for the accused who said a son of complainant, Nazir Masih, had married a Muslim girl.
Fortress Stadium
The Lahore Cantonment Board’s administration told the LHC last week that a space at Fortress Stadium, where a multi-storey commercial complex is being built, was meant for specific military purposes and it had not approved the plan for the construction.
The administration submitted its comments on a petition challenging the construction.
Lahore Cantt Executive Officer Saima Shah, a respondent, had filed the reply to a petition by Nayyer Khan.
She said as per Rule 4 of the Cantonments Land Administration Rules, 1937, the land in the cantonment is divided into A, B and C classes. The land for class A and B belongs to the central and provincial government. As per Rule 9 of the Cantonments Land Administration Rules, 1937, management of the Class C land falls under the authority of the LCB.
She said the land in question fell in class A-1, meant for specific military purposes and did not fall under the management and administrative jurisdiction of the LCB. She said a building plan for the complex had not been approved by the LCB as required under Sections 178-A and 179 of the Cantonments Act, 1924. The petitioner said no commercial plaza could be built on the land.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2014.
Suffering at the hands of a ‘strict’ divorce condition in the Christian Divorce Act 1869, a citizen has brought the matter before the Lahore High Court (LHC) which has summoned the top law officer and the bishop of Lahore for assistance.
The matter is sensitive as the church says spouses are pre-destined and their unions are for eternity… the bonds of holy matrimony “cannot be broken, except on the charges of infidelity arising out of an adulterous act on the part of either spouse”.
Under Section 10 of the Christian Divorce Act, 1869, a man may seek dissolution of marriage only on the grounds of adultery by his wife. A woman, on the other hand, cannot seek divorce over adultery by her husband. She must show either bigamy with adultery, incestuous adultery, adultery coupled with sodomy, rape or bestiality, adultery coupled with cruelty, or adultery coupled with desertion for a period of two or more years.
Under Section 13 of the Act, no decree for divorce would be issued by the court if it learnt that the spouses have approached the court having consent to divorce.
Ground realities are bitter.
Due to this law, in most divorce cases men raise false charges of adultery against their wives. Secondly, many men who want to divorce their wives ‘convert’ to Islam to wriggle out of their marriage.
Such a convict is in great peril once those aware of his conversion to Islam learn that he has converted to Christianity after divorcing his wife.
Anybody can declare him an apostate and seek death penalty for him.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the LHC would take up the matter on June 7.
Amin Masih, a resident of Lahore, had submitted in his petition that a family suit of maintenance had been pending against him before a civil court. He said he had not been living happily with his wife for the last two years and he did not have good relations with his in-laws. He said it was not possible for him to continue the marriage. He said he wanted separation but the law required him to wrongfully accuse her of adultery. He requested the court to declare Section 10 of the Christian Divorce Act 1869 in contravention of the Constitution.
Faith and marriage
An LHC bench last week directed Sargodha police to produce a girl who it was told had married a Christian man and converted to Christianity. The court issued the order while hearing a bail petition by five relatives of the girl. They are accused of theft and entering the house of the groom as the couple and the groom’s family had gone into hiding after their marriage.
The court directed police to produce the girl after hearing the counsel for the accused who said a son of complainant, Nazir Masih, had married a Muslim girl.
Fortress Stadium
The Lahore Cantonment Board’s administration told the LHC last week that a space at Fortress Stadium, where a multi-storey commercial complex is being built, was meant for specific military purposes and it had not approved the plan for the construction.
The administration submitted its comments on a petition challenging the construction.
Lahore Cantt Executive Officer Saima Shah, a respondent, had filed the reply to a petition by Nayyer Khan.
She said as per Rule 4 of the Cantonments Land Administration Rules, 1937, the land in the cantonment is divided into A, B and C classes. The land for class A and B belongs to the central and provincial government. As per Rule 9 of the Cantonments Land Administration Rules, 1937, management of the Class C land falls under the authority of the LCB.
She said the land in question fell in class A-1, meant for specific military purposes and did not fall under the management and administrative jurisdiction of the LCB. She said a building plan for the complex had not been approved by the LCB as required under Sections 178-A and 179 of the Cantonments Act, 1924. The petitioner said no commercial plaza could be built on the land.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2014.