04-09-2021 | 16:31 PM
Arunachal Pradesh Draft Inheritance Bill
Context: The Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women (APSCW) has been urged to scrap certain provisions from the proposed Arunachal Pradesh Marriage and Inheritance bill, keeping in view the public sentiment and the state’s interest.
Key Highlights:
• The bill is made applicable to any person who belongs to any indigenous scheduled tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. It provides that a marriage between parties may be solemnized according to local customary rites and rituals of either party.
• The bill also provides for restitution of conjugal rights stating when either of the party has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply by petition to the district court for restitution of conjugal rights.
• Marriage solemnized after the commencement of the act can be dissolved on various grounds.
• A wife who is unable to maintain herself can file an application to the court for maintenance. The court may order that the husband shall pay to her an appropriate lump sum of permanent alimony.
• Every person who, being at the time married, procures a marriage of himself or herself to be solemnized under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offense under Section 494 or Section 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), as the case may be, and the marriage so solemnized shall be void.
Issues related to Bill:
• An Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) woman married to a non-APST man shall enjoy any immovable property inherited from the head of the family in her lifetime.
• In the event of her death, her husband and her heirs would have full rights of it for disposal and alienation to any indigenous tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Because of these Provisions, the draft Bill is termed as “Anti-tribal”, “Anti-Arunachal”, violative of customary laws, and an invitation to outsiders to take over tribal land through marriage.
