During the British period in India, the Governor General in Council applied the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857 which regulated the divorce under Christian law in Britain, to India as well with slight modifications. In India the Act came to be known as The Indian Divorce Act, 1869 which aimed at amending the laws dealing with divorce among Christians and other matrimonial reliefs; grant authority on the District Court and High Court to deal with matters relating to matrimonial causes. The Act came into force on first day of April, 1869