 bill no 4 of  2012 the hindu marriage (amendment) bill, 2012 by shri manish tewari, mp a billfurther to amend the hindu marriage act, 1955be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-third year of the republic of india as follows:—1  (1) this act may be called the hindu marriage (amendment) act, 2012short title and commencement5(2) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appointamendment of section 1325 of 19552 in section 13 of the hindu marriage act, 1955, in sub-section (1), after clause (vii),the following clause and proviso thereunder shall be inserted, namely:—45 of 1860"(viii) is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for seven years or more for anoffence as defined in the indian penal code:10provided that divorce shall not be granted on this ground, unless the respondenthas, prior to the presentation of the petition, undergone at least three years' imprisonment out of the said period of seven years" statement of objects and reasonssection 13(1) of the hindu marriage act, 1955 provides that any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the basis of certain grounds that have been enunciated in the clauses (i) to (vii) of this section however, under the special marriage act, 1954, in section 27(c) there is yet another ground on which divorce may be sought, ie, is as follows:—''respondent is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for seven years or more for an offence as defined in the indian penal code (act no 45 of 1860):provided that divorce shall not be granted on this ground, unless the respondent has, prior to the presentation of the petition undergone at least three years' imprisonment out of the said period of seven years'' there seems no reason as to why a person whose marriage is solemnized under hindu marriage act, 1955 should not be afforded this ground of divorce in as much that the dominant logic and purpose for inclusion of this clause in special marriage act, 1954 holds true even for hindu marriage act, 1955 therefore, persons whose marriage is solemnized under the hindu marriage act, 1955 shall also have the opportunity to seek divorce on the grounds that the other spouse is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for seven years or more for an offence as defined in the indian penal code, 1860 a proviso has been added at the end that the divorce shall not be granted on this ground, unless the respondent has, prior to the presentation of the petition undergone at least three years' imprisonment out of the said period of seven yearsthe bill seeks to achieve the above objectsnew delhi;manish tewarinovember 18, 2011 annexure extract from the hindu marriage act, 1955    divorce13 (1) any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party—  (i)    (ia)    (ib)    (ii)    (iii)    (iv)    (v)    (vi)    (vii)  has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or more by those  persons who would naturally have heard of it, and that party been alive     lok  sabha————abillfurther to amend the hindu marriage act, 1955————(shri manish tewari, mp)gmgipmrnd—3878ls(s3)—25022012