The government has approved fresh amendments in a bill pending in Rajya Sabha to give the wife a clearly defined share in her husband's immovable residential property.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday, took up new amendments to the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.

The Law Ministry Bill seeks to further amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

The government also decided to retain the mandatory six-month cooling-off period, which the bill had proposed to do away with in case of divorce with mutual consent. However, to waive the cooling period, both the parties will have to move the application together.

Once the divorce is granted, the woman will have to move an application to a get share in her husband's property as part of the settlement.