substitution of new sec- 10 for section 17 of the principal act, the following section shall be substituted, namely :-— tion for section 17 power of high court fo remove certan suits 10 "17 during the progress of the suit in the court of the district judge, any person suspecting that any party to the suit are or have been acting in collusion for the purpose of obtaining a divorce, shall be at liberty, in such manner as the high court by general or special order from time to time directs, to apply to the high court to remove the suit under section 8, and the court shall thereupon, if it think fit, remove such suit and try and determine the same as a court of original jurisdiction, and the provisions contained in section 16 shall apply to every suit so removed; or it may direct the district judge to take such step in respect of the alleged collusion as may be necessary, to enable him to make a decree in accordance with the justice of the case", 11 section 17a of the principal act shall be omitted | omission    | of      ||-------------|---------|| section     | 17a    || amendment   |         || of          | section |12 in section 18 of the principal act, the words "or to the high court" shall be omitted amendment 13 in section 19 of the principal act, in the last paragraph, for the words "jurisdiction of section 19, of the high court", the words " jurisdiction of the district court" shall be substituted, omission of 14 section 20 of the principal act shall be omitted | section    | 20     ||------------|---------|| amendment  |         || of         | section |15 in section 22 of the principal act, the words " without reasonable excuse" shall be omitted 20 amendment 16 in sections 23, 27 and 32 of the prircipal act, the words " or the high court" shall of sections 23, be omitted 27 and 32 substitution of new section 17 for section 34 of the principal act, the following section shall be substituted, namely :— for section 34 damages from "34, (1) a husband or wife may, either in a petition for dissolution of marriage 25 adulterer or adulteress or for judicial separation, or in a petition to the district court, limited to such object only, claim damages from any person on the ground, of his having committed adultery with the wife of such petitioner; or her having committed adultery with the husband of such petitioner, as the case may be (2) a petition under sub-section (j) shall be served on the alleged adulterer and 30 the wife or the alleged adulteress and the husband, as the case may be, unless the court dispenses with such services or directs some other service to be substituted (3) the damages to be recovered on any petition under sub-section (/) shall be ascertained by the said court, although the respondent or either of them may not appear 35 (4) after the decision has been given, the court may direct in what manner such damages shail be paid or applied" substitution 18 for section 35 of the principal act, the following section shall be substituted, of new section namely :— for section 35 power to order 40 | adulterer    | or     ||--------------|--------|| adulteress   | to     || pay          | costs, |"35, (1) whenever, in any petition presented by a husband or wife, the alleged adulterer or adulteress, as the case may be, has been made a co-respondent, and the adultery has been established, the court may order the co-respondent to pay: provided that the co-respondent shall not be ordered to pay the petitioners cost— (a) if the respondent was, at the time of adultery, living apart from her husband and leading the life of a prostitute or from his wife and was leading an immoral life, as the case may be; or (b) if the respondent had not, at the time of adultery, reason to believe the respondent to be a married woman or married man (2) whenever any application is made under section17, the court, if it thinks that the applicant had no grounds or no sufficient grounds for intervening, may order him to pay the whole or any part of the costs occasioned by the application" amendment 19 in section 36 of the principal act, in the proviso, the words "or is confirmed, as of section 36 the case may be" shall be omitted 10 amendment of section 37 20 in section 37 of the principal act, for the portion beginning with the words "the high court" and ending with the words "the husband shall", the words "where a decree of dissolution of the marriage or a decree of judicial separation is obtained by the wife, the district court may order that the husband shall" shall be substituted amendment 15 of section 40 21 in section 40 of the principal act, for the portion beginning with the words "the high court" and ending with the words "may inquire into", the words "the district court may, before passing a decree for dissolution of the marriage or a decree of nullity of marriage, inquire into" shall be substituted amendment of section 43, 20 22 in section 43 of the principal act, for the portion beginning with the words "in any suit for obtaining" and ending with the words "deems proper", the words "in any suit for obtaining a dissolution of marriage or a decree of nullity of marriage instituted in a district court, the court may before making its decree from time to time make such interim orders as it may deem proper" shall be substituted, amendment of section 44, 25 23, in section 44 of the principal act, for the portion beginning with the words "the high court" and ending with the words "may upon application", the words "where a decree of dissolution or nullity of marriage has been passed, the district court may, upon application" shall be substituted amendment of section 45 24 in section 45 of the principal act, for the words "code of civil procedure", the words and figures "code of civil procedure, 1908" shall be substituted 5 of 1908 amendment 30 of section 52 25 in section 52 of the principal act, for the portion beginning with the words "by a wife" and ending with the words "without reasonable excuse", the words "by a husband or a wife, praying that his or her marriage may be dissolved by reason of his wife on her husband, as the case may be, having been guilty of adultery, cruelty or desertion" shall be substituted 35 26 in section 55 of the principal act,— amendment of section 55 (a) the first proviso shall be omitted; (b) in the second proviso, for the words "provided also", the words "provided" shall be substituted 27, for section '57 of the principal act, the following section shall be substituted, substitution of new section 40 namely:-—— for section 57 "57, where a decree for dissolution or nullity of marriage has been passed and liberty to partes to marry again either the time for appeal has expired without an appeal having been presented to any court including the supreme court or an appeal has been presented but has been dismissed and the decree or dismissal has become final, it shall be lawful for either 45party to the marriage to marry again" 28 in section 62 of the principal act, for the words "code of civil procedure", the amendment 5 of 1908 words and figures "code of civil procedure,1908" shall be substituted of section 62 16 & 17 geo 29 the indian and coloniah divorce jurisdiction act, 1926, the indian and colonial repeal 3,¢ ay 3 an divorce jurisdiction act,1940 and the indian divorce act,1945 are hereby repealed 4 eo c35, 9 geo vi c51 statement of objects and reasonsthe law commission of india in its 164th report on "the indian divorce act (iv of 1869)" presented to the government in november, 1998 has, inter alia, recommended that parliament may enact a comprehensive law governing marriage and diverce and other allied aspec's of the christians in india the commission, relying on the judgments and observations of certain high courts, has also urged the central government to take immediate measures— (i) to amend section 10 of the indian divorce act, 1869 relating to grounds of dissolution of marriages so that the female spouses are not discriminated vis a vis male spouses in obtaining a decree of dissolution of marriage; (ii) to amend suitably sections 17 and 20 of the act to do away with the procedural requirement of obtaining confirmation from the high court in respect of a decree of dissolution of marriage or decree of nullity of marriage as such a procedure is long-drawn and strenuous 2 with a view to ascertaining the views of the christian community on proposal for a unified jaw on marriage and divorce, the central government convened a meeting of leaders of prominent churches in india and the membe?s of parliament belonging to the christian community on the 28th april, 2000 but there was no consensus for bringing in a comprehensive legislation on christian marriages and matrimonial causes however, there is no opposition from any one to amend sections 10, 17 and 20 of the indian divorce act, 1869 suitably to remove the gender inequality as contained in section 10 and to do away with the procedural delays in obtaining divorce due to the provisions contained in sections 17 and 20 of the act the government, therefore, proposes to make suitable changes in the indian divorce act, 1869 for removing hardship to all concerned 3 the commission on review of administrative laws which was set up by the central government on the 8th may, 1998 has, inter alia, recommended repeal of various enactments including three british statutes relating to christian personal law still in force it is proposed to repeal these enactments also as they have become obsolete 4 this bill seeks to achieve the above objects new deh; arun jaitley the 17th november, 2000clause 1 —this clause prevides for short title and commencement of the bill clause 2—this clause seeks to amend the short title of the indian divorce act, 1869 (hereafter referred to as the act) so as to omit the word "indian" occurring therein this is in tune with the recent legislative practice of not using the word "indian" in the short titles of parliamentary legislation clause 3—~it 1s proposed to remove gender inequality in the matter of grounds of divorce as available to husband and wife under section 10 of the act by substituting that section vide clause 4 of the bill as the expressions "incestuous adultery" and "bigamy with adultery" as occurring in section 10 of the act will no longer be tn the said section, these expressions have become redundant this clause, therefore, seeks to omit the defnitions of those expressions clause 4—-this clause seeks to provide the grounds of dissolution of marriage existing provisions of section 10 of the act make a distinction between the husband and the wife in the matter of grounds on which they could obtain dissolution of marriage while adultery, without any other ground, is a ground for seeking dissolution of marriage by the husband, in the case of the petition by the wife, there is in addition another requirement that it should be incestuous adultery or bigamy with adultery or adultery coupled with cruelty or desertion for two years certain high courts including the high court of kerala have struck down the words "incestuous" and "adultery coupled with" in section 10 on the ground of gender inequality this clause seeks to substitute the said section 10 with a new section providing same grounds for husband and wife for seeking dissolution of marriage however, a wife may also get divorce on the ground that the husband has since the solemnization of marnage been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality at present a petition for dissolution of marriage could be presented either to the district court or to the high court it is proposed that the petition may henceforth be presented to the district court only clause 5—this clause seeks to substitute existing section 11 with the addition of the words "or adulteress" to cover cases where the wife sues the husband for divorce on the ground of adultery the amendment is consequential to the amendments made in the grounds of divorce under section 10 clause 6—this clause seeks to amend section 13 of the act so as to do away with the enabling provision for presenting a petition for dissolution of marriage to the high court after such a petition has been dismissed by the district court clause 7—this clause seeks to amend section 14 of the principal act the amendment is consequential to the amendments made in sections 16 and 17 of the act clause 8-—this clause seeks to amend section 15 of the act the amendments are consequential to the changes made in the grounds of divorce under section 10 clause 9—this clause seeks to amend section 16 of the act the amendment is consequential to the amendments made in section 17 of the act to do away with the requirement of confirmation of decree of district court by the high court clause 10-—this clause seeks to substitute section 17 relating to confirmation of decree for dissolution of marriages made by a district judge by the high court at present every decree for a dissolution ot marriage made by a district judge is subject to confirmation by the high court in order to obviate the procedural delay and consequential hardship to the estranged couples, this clause seeks to do away with the requirement of confirmation by the high court of such decrees the amendment is on the lines suggested by the law commission of india in its 164th report clause 11—this clause seeks to omit section 17a of the act relating to appointment of officers to exercise, duties of king's proctor as it has become obsolete clause 12——this clause seeks to amend section 18 of the act relating to petition for decree of nullity the omission of the words "or to the high court" as proposed in this clause in consequential to the amendment proposed in section 10 clause 13—this clause seeks to amend section 19 of the act as consequential to the amendment made in section 10 as regards the court in which petition may be presented clause 14,—~this clause seeks to omit section 20 of the act relating to confirmation of decree of nullity of marriage by a district judge at present, every decree of nullity of marriage made by a district judge shall be subject to confirmation by the high court in order to simplify the procedure and obviate delay and consequential hardship to estranged couples, it is proposed to do away with the requirement of confirmation clause 15-—this clause seeks to amend section 22 of the act the amendment is consequential to the changes made in section 10 clause 16—this clause seeks to omit the words "or the high court" occurring in sections 23, 27 and 32 of the act as consequential to changes made in section 10 relating to the court in which petitions could be made clause 17—this clause provides for damages from adulterer or adulteress while following the existing provisions of section 34 of the act, it is proposed to allow the wife also to claim damages from the adulteress this is consequential to the changes made in section 10 of the act clause 18—this clause seeks to substitute section 35 of the act so as to make provision for the adulterer as well as the adulteress to pay costs the changes are consequential to the changes made in section 10 clauses 19 to 23—-the amendments suggested in these clauses are consequential to the changes made in sections 10 and 17 of the act clause 24—this clause seeks to amend section 45 of the act relating to application of the code of civil procedure by specifying the particulars of the present code clause 25,—~this clause seeks to amend section 52 of the act as consequential to the changes made in section 10  ' clause 26— this clause seeks to amend section 55 of the act so as to allow on appeal from a decree of a district judge for dissolution of marriage or nullity of marriage clause 27—this clause seeks to substitute section 57 of the act specifying the circumstances under which the parties to a marriage which has been dissolved could marry again clause 28—the amendment proposed in this clause is similar to the one proposed in clause 24 clause 29—this clause seeks to repeal certain british statutes which have become obsolete and recommended to be repealed by the commission on review of administrative laws annexure extracts from the indian divorce act, 1869(4 of 1869)       j—-preliminaryj this act may be called the indian divorce act, and shall come into operation on the first day of april, 1869 short title, commencement of act      3 in this act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,— interpretation clause   +   "incestuous adultery" (6) "incestuous adultery" means adultery committed by a husband with a women with whom, if his wife were dead, he could not lawfully contract marriage by reason of her being within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity (whether natural or legal) or affinity: (7) "bigamy with adultery" means adultery with the same woman with whom "bigamy with adultery" the bigamy was committed:     %  iif—dissolution of marriagehus- 10 any husband may present a petition to the district court or to the high court, praying that his marriage may be dissolved on the ground that his wife has, since the solemnization thereof, been guilty of adultery when band may petition —_ for dissolution any wife may present a petition to the district court or to the high court, praying when wife may petition for - dissoluthat her marriage may be dissolved on the ground that, since the solemnization thereof, her husband has exchanged his profession of christianity for the profession of some other tion religion, and gone through a form of marriage with another woman; - or has been guilty of incestuous adultery, or of bigamy with adultery, 'or of marriage with another woman with adultery, or of rape, sodomy or bestiality, or of adultery coupled with such cruelty as without adultery would have entitled her to a divorce a mena et toro or of adultery coupled with desertion, without reasonable excuse, for two years or upwards every such petition shall state, as distinctly as the nature of the case permits, contents of petition the facts on which the claim to have such marriage dissolved is founded adulterer to be co-respondent11 upon any such petition presented by a husband, the petitioner shall make the alleged adulterer a co-respondent to the said petition, unless he is excused from so doing on one of the following grounds, to be allowed by the court:— (j) that the respondent is leading the life of a prostitute, and that the petitioner knows of no person with whom the adultery has been committed, (2) that the name of the alleged adulterer is unknown to the petitioner, although he has made due efforts to discover it; (3) that the alleged adulterer is dead   ok  13 in case the court, on the evidence in relation to any such petition, is satisfied that | dismissal    ||--------------|| petition    |the petitioner's case has not been proved, or is not satisfied that the alleged adultery has been committed, or finds that the petitioner has, during the marriage, been accessory to, or conniving at, the going through of the said form of marriage, or the adultery of the other party to the marriage, or has condoned the adultery complained of, or that the petition is presented or prosecuted in collusion with either of the respondents, then and in any of the said cases the court shall dismiss the petition when a petition is dismissed by a district court under this section, the petitioner may, nevertheless, present a similar petition to the high court | power    | to        ||----------|-----------|| to       | pronounce |14 in case the court is satisf2d on the evidence that the case of the petitioner has been proved, for dissolving mar- and does not find that the petitioner has been in any manner accessory to, or conniving riage at, the going through of the said form of marriage, or the adultery of the other party to the marriage, or has condoned the adultery complained of, or that the petition is presented or prosecuted in collusion with either of the respondents, ' the court shall pronounce a decree declaring such marriage to be dissolved in the manner and subject to all the provisions and limitations in sections 16 and 17 made and declared: provided that the court shall not be bound to pronounce such decree if it finds that the petitioner has, during the marriage, been guilty of adultery, or if the petitioner has, in the opinion of the court, been guilty of unreasonable delay in presenting or prosecuting such petition, or of cruelty towards the other party to the marriage, or of having deserted or wilfully separated himself or herself form the other party before the adultery complained of, and without reasonable excuse, or of such wilful neglect or misconduct of or towards the other party as has conduced to the adultery condonation no adultery shall be deemed to have been condoned within the meaning of this act unless where conjugal co-habitation has been resumed or continued rehef in case of opposition on certain grounds 15 in any suit instituted for dissolution of marriage, if the respondent opposes the relief sought on the ground, in case of such a suit instituted by a husband, or his adultery, cruelty, or desertion without reasonable excuse, or in case of such a suit instituted by a wife, - on the ground of her adultery and cruelty, the court may in such suit give to the respondent, on his or her application, the same relief to which he or she would have been entitled in case he or she had presented a petition seeking such relief, and the respondent shall be competent to give evidence of or relating to such cruelty or desertion decrees for dissolution to 16 every decree for a dissolution of marriage made by a high court, not being a confirmation of a decree of a district court, shall, in the first instance, be a decree nisi, not be nisi to be made absolute till after the expiration of such time, not less than six months from the pronouncing thereof, as the high court by general or special order from time to time directscollusion, during that period any person shall be at liberty, in such manner as the high court by general or special order from time to time directs, to show cause why the said decree should not be made absolute by reason of the same having been obtained by collusion or by reason of material facts not being brought before the court on cause being so shown, the court shall deal with the case by making the decree absolute, or by reversing the decree nisi, or by requiring further inquiry, or otherwise as justice may demand the high court may order the costs of counsel and witnesses, and otherwise arising from such cause being shown, to be paid by the parties or such one or more of them as it thinks fit, including a wife if she have separate property whenever a decree nisi has been made, and the petitioner fails, within a reasonable time, to move to have such decree made absolute, the high court may dismiss the suit confirmation 17, every decree for a dissolution of marriage made by a district judge shall be subject to confirmation by the high court of decree for dissolution by district judge cases for confirmation of a decree for dissolution of marriage shall be heard (where the number of the judges of the high court is three or upwards) by a court composed of three such judges, and in case of difference the opinion of the majority shall prevail, or (where the number of the judges of the high court is two) by a court composed of such two judges, and in case of difference the opinion of the senior judge shall prevail the high court, if it think further enquiry or additional evidence to be necessary, may direct such enquiry to be made or such evidence to be taken the result of such enquiry and the additional evidence shall be certified to the high court by the district judge, and the high court shall thereupon make an order confirming the decree for dissolution of marriage, or such other order as to the court seems fit: provided that no decree shall be confirmed under this section till after the expiration of such time, not less than six months from the pronouncing thereof, as the high court by general or special order from time to time directs during the progress of the suit in tne court of the district judge, any person suspecting that any parties to the suit are or have been acting in collusion for the purpose of obtaining a divorce, shall be at liberty, in such manner as the high court by general or special order from time to time directs, to apply to the high court to remove the suit under section 8, and the high court shall thereupon, if it think fit, remove such suit and try and determine the same as a court of original jurisdiction, and the provisions contained in section 16 shall apply to every suit so removed; or it may direct the district judge to take such steps in respect of the alleged collusion as may be necessary to enable him to make a decree in accordance with the justice of the case 17a the government of the state within which any high court exercises jurisdiction may appoint an officer who shall, within the jurisdiction of the high court in that state, have the like right of showing cause why a decree for the dissolution of a marriage should not be made absolute or should not be confirmed, as the case may be, as is exercisable in england by the king's proctor; and the said government may make rules regulating the manner in which the rightshall be exercised and all matters incidental to or consequential on any exercise of the right  tv~~nullity of marriage18, any husband or wife may present a petition to the district court or to the high court, praying that his or her marriage may be declared null and void | petition    | for    ||-------------|--------|| decree      | of     || nullity     |        |19, such decree may be made on any of the following grounds:—- | grounds    ||------------|| decree     |(j) that the respondent was impotent at the time of the marriage and at the time of the institution of the suit; (2) that the parties are within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity (whether natural or legal) or affinity; (3) that either party was a lunatic or idiot at the time ofthe marriage; (4) that the former husband or wife of either party was living at the time of the marriage, and the marriage with such former husband or wife was then in force nothing in this section shall affect the jurisdiction of the high court to make decrees of nullity of marriage on the gound that the consent of either party was obtained by force or fraud 20 every decree of nullity of marriage made by a district judge shall be subject to confirmation by the high court, and the provisions of section 17, clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to such decrees confirmation of district judge's decree       v—judicial separation22 no axcree shall hereafter be made for a divorce a mensa et toro, but the husband or wife may obtain a decree of judicial separaticn, on the ground of adultery, or cruelty, or desertion without reasonable excuse for two years or upwards, and such decree shall have | bar     | to    ||---------|-------|| decree  | for   || divorce | a     || mensa   | et    |the effect of a divorce a mensa et toro, under the existing law, and such other legal effect as hereinafter mentioned, | toro;       | but     ||-------------|---------|| yudictial   |         || separation  |         || obtainable  |         || by          | husband || or          | wife    || application |         || for         | separa- || tion        | made    |23 application for judicial separation on any one of the grounds aforesaid may be made by either husband or wife by petition to the district court or the high court; and the court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition, and that there by petition is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree judicial separation accordingly       vi,—protection orders10 of 1865eserted wife may epply to fourt for 27 any wife to whom section 4 of the indian succession act, 1865, does not apply, may, when deserted by her husband, present a petition to the district court or the high court, at any time after such desertion, for an order to protect any property which she may have acquired or may acquire, and any property of which she may tiave become possessed srcolection or may become possessed after such desertion, against her husband or his creditors, or any person claiming under him     3  vil~—restitution of conjugal rights32 when either the husband or the wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, either wife or husband may apply, by petition to the district court or the high court, for restitution of conjugal rights, and the court, on being satisfied -uition for stitution conjugal ghts of the truth of the statements made in such petition, and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution conjugal rights accordingly       viti—damages and costs34 any husband may, either in a petition for dissolution of marriage or for judicial separation, or in a petition to the district court or the high court limited to such object only, claim damages from any person on the ground of his having committed adultery with the wife of such petitioner husband may claim damages from adulterer, such petition shall be served on the alleged adulterer and the wife, unless the court dispenses with such service, or directs some other service to be substituted the damages to be recovered on any such petition shall be ascertained by the said court, although the respondents or either of them may not appear after the decision has been given, the court may direct in what manner such damages shail be paid or applied  35 ture 5 whenever in any petition presenied by a husband the alleged adulierer has been made a co-respondent, and the adultery has been established, the court may order the corespondent to pay the whole or any part of the cost of the proceedings: | power     | to     ||-----------|--------|| order     |        || adulterer | to     || pay       | costs |provided that the co-respondent shall not be ordered to pay the petitioner's costs— (j) if the respondent was, at the time of the adultery, living apart from her husband and leading the life of a prostitute, or (2) if the co-respondent had not, at the time of the adultery, reason to believe the respondent to be a married woman whenever any application is made under section 17, the court, if it thinks that the applicant had no grounds or no sufficient grounds for intervening, may order him to pay the whole or any part of the costs occasioned by the application | power      ||------------|| order      || litigious  || intervenor | lx—-alimony| to       ||----------|| costs   || alimony  || pendente || lite    |36 in any suit under this act, whether it be instituted by a husband or a wife, and whether or not she has obtained an order of protection, the wife may present a petition for alimony pending the suit such petition shall be served on the hushand:; and the court, on being satisfied of the 2 truth of the statements therein contained, may make such order on the husband for payment to the wife of alimony pending the suit as it may deem just: provided that alimony pending the suit shall in no case exceed one-fifth of the husband's average nett income for the three years next preceding the date of the order, and shall continue, in case of a decree for dissolution of marriage or of nullity of marriage until the decree is made absolute or is confirmed, as the case may be 37, the high court may, if it think fit, on any decree absolute declaring a marriage to be dissolved, or on any decree of judicial separation obtained by the wife, | power     ||-----------|| order     || permanent || alimony  |and the district judge may, if he thinks fit, on the confirmation of any decree of his declaring a marriage to be dissolved, or on any decree of judicial separation obtained by the wife, order that the husband shall, to the satisfaction of the court, secure to the wife such gross sum of money, or such annual sum of money for any term not exceeding her own life, as, having regard to her fortune (if any), to the ability of the husband, and to the conduct of the parties, it thinks reasonable; and for that purpose may cause a proper instrument to be executed by all necessary parties in every such case the court may make an order on the husband for payment to the wife of such monthly or weekly sums for her maintenance and support as the court may think reasonable: | power     | to    ||-----------|-------|| order     |       || monthly   | or    || weekly    |       || payments |       |provided that if the husband afterwards from any cause becomes unable to make such payments, it shall be lawful for the court to discharge or modify the order, or temporarily to suspend the same as to the whole or any part of the money so ordered to be paid, and again to revive the same order wholly or in part, as to the court seems fit |     |     |     |     |     ||------|------|------|------|------|40 the high court, after a decree absolute for dissolution of marriage, or a decree of nullity of marriage, and the district court, after its decree for dissolution of marriage or of nullity of marriage has been confirmed, | inquiry     | into    ||-------------|---------|| existence   | of      || ante-       |         || nuptial     | or      || post-       |         || nuptial     |         || settlements |         |may inquire into the existence of ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlements made on the parties whose marriage is the subject of the decree, and may make such orders, with reference to the application of the whole or a portion of the property settled, whether for the benefit of 'he husband or the wife, or of the children (if any) of the marriage, or of both children and parents, as to the court seems fit: provided that the court shall not make any order for the benefit of the parents or either of them at the expense of the children / |     |     |     |     |     |     ||------|------|------|------|------|------|43 in any suit for obtaining a dissolution of marriage or a decree of nullity of matriage instituted in, or removed to, a high court, the court may from time to time, before making its decree absolute or its decree (as the case may be), make such interim orders, and may make such provision in the decree absolute or decree, | power       | to      ||-------------|---------|| make        |         || orders      | as      || custody     | of      || children    | in      || suits       | for     || dissolution |         || or          | nullity |and in any such suit instituted in a district court, the court may from time to time, before its decree is confirmed, make such interim orders, and may make such provision on such confirmation, as the high court or district court (as the case may be) deems proper with respect to the custody, maintenance and education of the minor children, the marriage of whose parents is the subject of the suit; and may, if it think fit, direct proceedings to be taken for placing such children under the protection oi the court 44, the high court, after a decree absolute for dissolution of marriage or a decree of nullity of marriage, and the district court, after a decree for dissolution of marriage or of nullity of matriage has been confirmed, power to make such orders after decree or confirmation may, upon application by petition for the purpose, make from time to time all such orders and provision, with respect to the custody, maintenance and education of the minor children, the marriage of whose parents was the subject of the decree, or for placing such children under the protection of the said court, as might have been made by such decree absolute or decree (as the case may be), or by such interim orders as aforesaid  xii-~-procedure45 subject to the provisions herein contained, all proceedings under this act between 5 of 1908party and party shall be regulated by the code of civil procedure code of civil procedure   x   to apply 