Safari - 10-Nov-2018 at 1:34 PM

Acts of Parliament ∠ This article
Hindu Marriage Act 1955

Last updated: July 2018 | 6 min read
The following is a summary of the Hindu Marriage Act

1955, which aims to allow a reader to understand the key
points within the Act without having to read the Act itself.
Introduction
India, being a cosmopolitan country, allows each citizen to
be governed under personal laws relevant to religious
views. This extends to personal laws inter alia in the
matter of marriage and divorce.
As part of the Hindu Code Bill, the Hindu Marriage Act was
enacted by Parliament in 1955 to amend and to codify
marriage law between Hindus. As well as regulating the
institution of marriage (including validity of marriage and
conditions for invalidity), it also regulates other aspects of
personal life among Hindusand the applicabilityof such
lives in wider Indian society.
The Hindu Marriage Act provides guidance for Hindus to
be in a systematic marriage bond. It gives meaning to
marriage, cohabiting rights for both the bride and groom,
and a safety for their family and children so that they do
not suffer from their parental issues.
Applicability
The Act applies to all forms of Hinduism (for example, to a
person who is a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the
Brahmo, Prarthana or AryaSamam) and also recognises
offshoots of the Hindu religion as specified in Article 44 of
the Indian Constitution. Notably, these include Jains and
Buddhists. The Act also applies to anyone who is a
permanent resident in the India who is not Muslim, Jew,
Christian, or Parsi by religion.
Although the Act originally applied to Sikhs as well, the
AnandKarj Marriage Act gives Sikhs their own personal law
related to marriage.
Although the Act originally did not apply to citizens in the
State of Jammu and Kashmir, the effect of the J&K Hindu
Marriage Act, 1955 made it applicable.
Conditions for marriage

Section 5 of The Hindu Marriage Act specifies that
conditions must be met for a marriage to be able to take
place. If a ceremony takes place, but the conditions are
not met, the marriage is either void by default, or
voidable.
Void marriages
A marriage may be declared void if it contravenes any of
the following:
1. Either party is under age.The bridegroom should be of
21 years of age and the bride of 18 years.
2. Either party is not of a Hindu religion.Both the
bridegroom and the bride should be of the Hindu
religion at the time of marriage.
3. Either party is already married. The Act expressively
prohibits polygamy. A marriage can only be solemnized
if neither party has a living spouse at the time of
marriage.
4. The parties are sapindas or within the degree of
prohibited relationship.
Voidable marriages
A marriage may later be voidable (annulled) if it
contravenes any of the following:
1. Either party is impotent, unable to consummate the
marriage, or otherwise unfit for the procreation of
children.
2. One party did not willingly consent. In order to
consent, both parties must be sound of mind and
capable of understanding the implications of marriage.
If either party suffers from a mental disorder or
recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy, then that may
indicate that consent was not (or could not be) given.
Likewise, if consent was forced or obtained
fraudulently, then the marriage may be voidable.
3. The bride was pregnant by another man other then the
bridegroom at the time of the marriage.
Ceremonies
Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act recognises that there
may be different, but equally valid ceremonies and
customs of marriage. As such, Hindu marriage may be
solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and
ceremonies of either the bride or the groom. These rites
and ceremonies include the Saptapadi and Kreva.
Registering a marriage
A marriage cannot be registered unless the following
conditions are fulfilled:
1. a ceremony of marriage has been performed; and
2. the parties have been living together as husband and
wife
Additionally,the parties must have been residing within
the district of the Marriage Officer for a period of not less
than thirty days immediately preceding the date on which
the application is made to him for registration.
Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act allowsastate
government to make rules for the registration of Hindu
marriages particular to that state, particularly with respect
to recording the particulars of marriage as may be
prescribed in the Hindu Marriage Register.
Registration provides written evidenceof marriage. As
such, the Hindu Marriage Register should be open for
inspection at all reasonable times (allowing anyone to
obtain proof of marriage) and should be admissible as
evidence in a court of law.
Divorce
Although marriage is held to be divine, the Hindu
Marriage Act does permit either party to divorce on the
grounds of unhappiness, or if he or she can prove that the
marriage is no longer tenable.
A petition for divorce usually can only be filed one year
after registration. However, in certain cases of suffering by
the petitioner or mental instability of the respondent, a
court may allow a petition to be presented beforeone
year.
Grounds for divorce
A marriage may be dissolved by a court order on the
following grounds:
1. Adultery - the respondent has had voluntary sexual
intercourse with a man or a woman other than the
spouse after the marriage.
2. Cruelty - the respondent has physically or mentally
abused the petitioner.
3. Desertion - the respondent has deserted the
petitioner for a continuous period of not less than two
years.
4. Conversion to another religion - the respondent
has ceased to be a Hindu and has taken another
religion.
5. Unsound mind - the respondent has been diagnosed
since the marriage ceremony as being unsound of
mind to such an extent that normal married life is not
possible.
6. Disease - the respondent been diagnosed with an
incurable form of leprosy or has venereal disease in
acommunicable form.
7. Presumption of death - the respondent has not been
seen alive for seven years or more.
8. No resumption of cohabitation after a decree of
judicial separation for a period of at least one year.
In addition, a wife may also seek a divorce on the grounds
that:
1. In case of marriagesthat took place before the Hindu
Marriage Act 1955 was enacted, the husband was
already married and that any other wife of
thehusband was alive at the time of the marriage
ceremony.
2. The husband, after marriage, has been found guilty of
rape, sodomy or bestiality
bestiality.
3. Co-habitation has not been resumed within a
yearafter an order for maintenance under Section 125
of the Criminal Procedure Code or alternatively, under
the Hindu Adoptions & Maintenance Act 1956.
4. The wife was under-age when she married and
she repudiates the marriage before attaining the age of
18 years.
Alimonies (permanent maintenance)

At the time of the decree of divorce or at any subsequent
time, the court may decide that one party should pay to
the other an amount for maintenance and support. This
could be a one off payment, or a periodical (such as
monthly) payment. The amount to be paid is at the
discretion of the court.
Remarriage
Remarriage is possible once a marriage has been
dissolved by a decree of divorce and no longer able to be
appealed (whether there was no right of appeal in the first
place, or whether the time for appealing has expired, or
whether an appeal has been presented but dismissed).
Full text of "Hindu Marriage Act 1955" available here
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Acts of Parliament ∠ This article

Hindu Marriage Act 1955

The following is a summary of the Hindu Marriage Act

Conditions for marriage

Alimonies (permanent maintenance)

Please note that the information provided on

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Legal Documents | Information Articles | Sign in

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© 2000 - 2018 Net Lawman Limited. All rights reserved

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