Hindu Marriage Legal Terms-Thelegalbank

Hindu Marriage Law

The Hindu marriage act of 1955 has changed the marriage according to Hindu law. It is regarded as a landmark in the history of social legislation. Also, this law has not only arranged Hindu marriage law. It has also included many important changes in many features.

The concept of marriage is to create a relationship between husband and wife. Based on Hindu law, marriage is a sacred tie and the last of ten promises that can never be broken. Also, it is a relationship that is built by birth to birth. Based on smritikars even demise cannot split this relationship.

Also, it is not only recognized as sacred but it is also a holy union. The main purpose of marriage is to allow a woman and a man to fulfil their religious duties. Along with this, they also have to beget progeny. Based on ancient writings, a woman is held half of her husband and thus makes him. While a man is also deemed incomplete without a woman.

All Hindu whether they are male or female has to marry. Also, a person could not remain a perpetual student and where he did not want an ascetic life. But he was enjoyed or engrained in the Shastra to marry. Therefore marriage is regarded as good as required more so in the case of a female.

Applicability

The Act affects to all forms of Hinduism (for example, to a person who is a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a supporter of the Brahmo, Prarthana or AryaSamam) and also recognises offshoots of the Hindu religion as defined in Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. Notably, these involve Jains and Buddhists. The Act also refers to anyone who is a perpetual resident in India who is not Muslim, Jew, Christian, or Parsi by religion.

Although the Act basically applied to Sikhs as well, the AnandKarj Marriage Act provides Sikhs their own personal law linked to marriage.

Although the Act basically did not apply to citizens in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the result of the J&K Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 made it fit.

Conditions for marriage

Section 5 of The Hindu Marriage Act defines that requirements must be met for a marriage to be able to take point. If a ceremony takes place, but the requirements are not met, the marriage is either void by error, or voidable. That is:-

(i) Neither party has a spouse being at the time of the marriage;

1[(ii) at the time of the marriage, neither person—

(a) is incompetent of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind though able of giving valid consent has been experiencing from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be inappropriate for marriage and the procreation of children; or

(c) Has been subject to repeated attacks of insanity

(iii) The bridegroom has achieved the age of 21 years and the bride, the age of 18 at the time of the marriage;

(iv) The parties are not within the degrees of a forbidden relationship unless the custom or usage governing each of them allows of a marriage between the two;

(v) The parties are not sapindas of each other except the custom or usage directing each of them permits of a marriage within the two Void marriages

A marriage may be said void if it contravenes any of the following:

1. Either party is underage. The bridegroom should be of 21 years of age and the bride of 18 years should.

2. Either someone is not of the Hindu religion. Both the bridegroom and the bride should be of the Hindu religion at the period of marriage.

3. Either party is previously married. The Act expressively forbids polygamy. A marriage can only be observed if neither party has a living spouse at the time of marriage.

4. The parties are sapindas or inside the degree of forbidden relationship.

Voidable marriages

A marriage may later be voidable if it violates any of the following:

1. Either party is impotent, helpless to consummate the marriage, or unless unfit for the procreation of children.

2. One party did not willingly agree. In order to consent, both parties must be sound of mind and able to understand the implications of marriage. If either party suffers from a mental disorder or recurrent attacks of disease or epilepsy, then that may symbolize that consent was not (or could not be) given. Likewise, if permission was forced or acquired fraudulently, then the marriage may be voidable.

3. The bride was pregnant by another man other than the bridegroom at the moment of the marriage.

Ceremonies

Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act recognises that there may be complex, but uniformly valid functions and customs of marriage. As such, Hindu marriage may be observed in accordance with the usual rites and ceremonies of either the bride or the groom. These rites and ceremonies involve the Saptapadi and Kreva.

Registering a marriage

A marriage cannot be registered unless the subsequent conditions are satisfied:

1. A ceremony of marriage has been compelete; and

2. The parties have been living mutually as husband and wife

Additionally, the people must have been residing within the district of the Marriage Officer for a term 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 allows the state government to make rules for the registration of Hindu marriages appropriate to that state, especially with respect to recording the details of marriage as may be ordered in the Hindu Marriage Register.

Registration gives written evidence of marriage. As such, the Hindu Marriage Register should be open for review at all reasonable times (allowing anyone to obtain proof of marriage) and should be allowed as evidence in a court of law.

Grounds for divorce

A marriage may be terminated by 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 later the marriage.

2.   Cruelty - the respondent has bodily or mentally abused the petitioner.

3.   Desertion - the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a constant period of not less than two years.

4.   Conversion to another religion - the respondent has ceased to be a Hindu and has taken different religions.

5.   Unsound mind - the respondent has been diagnosed since the marriage ceremony as being unsound of mind to such an area that traditional married life is not possible.

6.   Disease - the respondent been diagnosed with a serious form of disease or has venereal disease in a communicable form.

 7.   Presumption of death - the respondent has not been seen growing for 7 years or more.

8.   No resumption of cohabitation after a decree of judicial parting for a period of at least 1 year.

In counting, a wife may also seek a divorce on the areas that:

1. In the case of marriages that took place before the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 was passed, the husband was already married and that any other wife of the husband was live at the peroid of the marriage ceremony.

2. The husband, after marriage, has been found crime of rape, sodomy or bestiality.

3.   Co-habitation has not been resumed within a year following 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 refuses the marriage before achieving the age of 18 years