No one likes going through legalities though everyone usually likes to gossip about the scandals behind a divorce. Who did what and why it was done and how much alimony was changing hands. There is no doubt that the law courts are patriarchal and that makes the task of getting a divorce even more of a hurdle for women. However, more and more women are getting divorced and family law is the fastest growing section of civil litigation. This is why family courts have been set up in many places, secluded from the mundane and rather sordid proceedings of the law. Children can play in these places while their parents slug it out.
Malavika Rajkotia is a successful lawyer who tells her experiences with the help of legalese and anecdotes. She has behind her the experience of her uncle who, at 24, married a girl his family had chosen for him. Despite his best efforts, Mohinder Pal Singh was unable to break off the engagement and finally gave in. The marriage lasted a few days at best and the couple separated. In 1975 when Captain Singh finally took his case to a Delhi court, the judge admitted the marriage had broken down irretrievably but refused to grant the divorce because the wife had not committed any wrong.
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