The Kerala High Court has urged Parliament to amend the Divorce Act, 1869, to allow Christian women to file divorce petitions from their place of residence. The court held that there is a gap in the law that prevents Christian women from filing divorce petitions from their place of residence. The court noted that the law requires that a divorce petition be filed in the district where the marriage was solemnized or where the couple last resided together. However, this can be a problem for Christian women who may not be able to travel to the district where the marriage was solemnized or where the couple last resided together. The court held that the provision is "simple, plain and unambiguous" and that courts have no business rewriting it. It said that "when the words of a statute are plain or unambiguous i.e., they are susceptible to only one meaning, the courts are bound to give effect to such a meaning, irrespective of the consequences that may ensue." The court also rejected the argument that the gap amounts to unconstitutional discrimination, holding that personal laws of different religious communities may differ. The court further said that the petitioner can apply under Section 24 of the CPC to transfer her case to a more convenient court, since Section 3(3) only governs where a case is first filed, not where it must stay. In the 2024 case of Eldho Varghese v Liya Jose, a division bench of the Kerala HC considered whether a divorce petition filed under the Divorce Act could be transferred to another family court even if the court did not satisfy the territorial requirements under Section 3(3). The court there held that Section 3(3) only governs where a petition may initially be instituted. Once filed, the HC can transfer the case under Section 24 of the CPC. The court held that a Christian woman who is unable to litigate in the prescribed forum is not entirely without a remedy and can seek transfer of the case under the civil law.