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Justice Surya Kant Flags Marriage’s Misuse to Subjugate Women, Calls for Child-First Approach in Cross-Border Cases

He highlighted reforms in both jurisdictions, stressing dignity, equality, with child welfare paramount.

Overview

  • Speaking at a Delhi High Court seminar on EnglandIndia family law, the Supreme Court judge said marriage has often operated to disadvantage women across cultures and eras.
  • He said Indian and English reforms are shifting family law toward equality, citing UK financial-remedies jurisprudence and no-fault divorce, alongside Indian statutes and landmark Supreme Court rulings.
  • On transnational disputes, he urged courts to uphold comity yet refuse recognition to foreign matrimonial judgments secured by fraud or in breach of natural justice.
  • He recounted a recent custody matter permitting a 22-year-old with a cognitive disability to live with his US-citizen mother so he could continue advanced medical care abroad.
  • He described family law as a rigorous field at the intersection of emotion, morality and justice, urging humane, inclusive, responsive evolution to protect vulnerable persons.