The extant divorce laws in Goa are a far cry from such statutes in operation in the rest of the country. Goa�s is indeed a unique case. The personal laws in our State today are exactly the same as they were during Portuguese times. The reason for this is that the Indian government decided to give Goans the benefit of a status-quo in respect of civil law even after Goa�s liberation in 1961.
The Indian Divorce Act (IDA) which invidiously discriminates against women just doesn�t operate in Goa. Under the IDA, the odds are weighed so heavily against the women (especially Christian women) that it is virtually impossible for them to get legally divorced. Men, on the other hand, can obtain a divorce with relative ease under the Act. Goa is the only State in India where women enjoy parity with men in the eyes of the law in civil matters.
As far as the Church is concerned, the word �divorce� is anathema. The Church does not recognize divorce. However, there is a provision for marriage annulment, but not divorce. Fear of the spouse, mental illness, impotency, and marriage by fraud, inability to assume marriage obligations, etc. are some conditions necessary for marriage annulment. After the annulment not only does the marriage becomes invalid but it is considered never to have taken place. Then affected ones are free to remarry.
Goans have a privilege in respect of marriage annulment since the marriage annulment in Goa has civil effects and it becomes a legal divorce too. This isn�t the case in other states of India. There the Christians have only a church marriage which is recognized as a civil marriage. But in their case the annulment by the Church is not recognized by the civil registrar. In Goa, Christians have a civil marriage first and Church marriage afterwards. Therefore, the annulment done by the Church in Goa is accepted by the law.
Moi-mogan, Domnic Fernandes Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA
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