Divorce through church tribunals invalid: Supreme Court
Synopsis
The division bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice D Y Chandrachud said that a divorce granted by church court could be considered valid only if it was approved by a competent court.
The PIL was filed by a Bengaluru-based Catholic advocate Clarence Pais. Father Paul Thelakkat, former spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church, the biggest Catholic church formation in Kerala said the rule is being followed in Kerala. The church tribunals in the state always direct couples seeking divorce to approach competent court to make it legally valid. We have been practising this for years, he said.
"There may be numerous issues related to marriage including property disputes. We are not authorised to decide on such matters," Thelakkat added.
Legal expert Sebastian Chembapilly clarified that the church courts are not granting the divorce in the legal parlance. But these church tribunals nullify the marriage as per Canon Law.