The government plans to amend a law to reduce the separation period for Christian couples seeking to file for divorce by mutual consent, a move which comes against the backdrop of a Supreme Court ruling and demands by the community.

The Law Ministry has drafted a Cabinet note to amend the Divorce Act, 1869 to halve the separation period for couples from the present two to one year before they can file for divorce by mutual consent to bring it at par with laws governing other communities.

The separation period under Hindu Marriage Act, Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act and the Special Marriage Act is one year.

Section 10A(1) of the Divorce Act, added through an amendment in 2001, says that a couple seeking divorce should be living separately for a period of "two years or more".

Against the backdrop of a Supreme Court order delivered in April last and demands by members of the community, the Law Ministry has decided to move the proposal to reduce the separation period.