Hindu Law

Introduction

• Marriage is a sacred tie and is considered a sacrament under Hindu Law. Also, it is one of the necessary samskaras irrespective of any caste.
• The Hindu Marriage is primarily governed by Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) which reformed the Hindu Marriage Law.
  • The Act applies to all Hindus, including Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains, and it provides guidelines for the registration and solemnization of Hindu marriages.

Solemnization of marriage

• The marriage renders to be valid if it is performed between a Hindu couple according to the customary ceremony and rituals of each party or any one of them as mentioned by Section 7 of HMA.

Section 7 - Ceremonies for a Hindu marriage —

(1) A Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto.

(2) Where such rites and ceremonies include the Saptapadi (that is, the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire), the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.

• Customary Ceremony and Rituals means that the marriage may be solemnised as per the customs of the community. For instance, a community may provide for a mere exchange of garlands, while another may require a more elaborate yajna ritual. The Act takes into account these differences

Essential Conditions for the Valid Marriage

According to the Section 5 of HMA, following are the essentials of the valid marriage:

• Neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage.
• At the time of marriage, neither party:
  • Is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or
  • Though capable of giving a valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and procreation of children; or
  • Has been subject to recurrent attacks on insanity.
• The bridegroom has completed the age of 21 years and the bride, the age of 18 years at the time of the marriage.
• The parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;
• The parties are not sapinda of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two.

Monogamy

• Section 5(i) of the HMA prohibits polygamy and polyandry.
• It says that neither party should have a living spouse at the time of the marriage.
• Failure to this condition would make the marriage null and void under Section 11 of HMA.
• The party at fault would be liable for bigamy under sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 17 of HMA.
• In Smt. Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav v. Ranantrao Shivram Adhav (1988), the Supreme Court (SC) has held that a marriage with a person who has a living spouse is totally null and void under Section 11, it cannot be treated as voidable under Section 12 of HMA.

Consent of Parties

• This provision has been mentioned under Section 5(ii) of HMA.
• Both parties should give their free and informed consent to the marriage.
• If either party is forced into the marriage or is unable to give consent due to mental illness or incapacity, the marriage is considered voidable.

Age of the Parties

• At the time of enactment of the Act, the legal age for the marriage of boy and girl was 18 years and 15 years respectively.
• However, later on, by virtue of amendment in Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 in the year 1978, changed the minimum age to 21 years and 18 years for boy and the girl respectively.
• Punishment
  • Section 18 of HMA says in the case of contravention of the condition specified in clause (iii) of section 5 of HMA punishable with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both.

Degrees of Prohibited Relationship

• Section 5 (iv) of HMA prohibits marriage of persons falling within prohibited degree of relationship.
  • Section 3(g) of HMA: Degree of Prohibited Relationship
    • Degrees of prohibited relationship - Two persons are said to be within the degrees of prohibited relationship:
    • If one is a lineal ascendant of the other; or
    • If one was the wife or husband of a lineal ascendant or descendant of the other; or
    • If one was the wife of the brother or of the father's or mother's brother or of the grandfather's or grandmother's brother of the other; or
    • If the two are brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, or children of brother and sister or of two brothers or of two sisters.
• If any marriage is solemnized within the prohibited degree of relationship, then such marriage would be considered as void under section 11 of HMA.
• Apart from this, violation of this clause would amount to simple imprisonment of upto 1 month or a fine of Rs. 1000/- or both under Section 18(b) of the Act.

Sapinda Relation

• The Sapinda relation has been defined under Section 3(f)(i) of HMA.
• The sapinda relationship extends to a person as far as the third generation (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the mother and as far as the fifth generation (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the father.
• Punishment
  • Marriage under sapinda relation punishable with imprisonment up to 1 month or a fine of Rs. 1000/- or both under Section 18(b) of HMA.

Ceremonies of Hindu Marriage

• Section 7 of the HMA, talks about the ceremonies of a Hindu marriage.
• There must be the performance of some spiritual ceremonies at the time of marriage.
• Saptapadi, which generally means taking seven steps around the holy fire under the mandap at the time of marriage, is a fundamental and common ceremony performed among various Hindu communities.
• The marriage will be considered complete and valid upon the completion of the seventh round around the holy fire.

Registration of Marriage

• Section 8(1) of HMA enables the State Governments to make rules for the purpose of registration of marriage.
• Section 8(2) mentions that regardless of what is stated in sub-section (1), the State Government can, if it deems necessary or appropriate, mandate the submission of the details mentioned in sub-section (1) within the entire state or specific regions, either universally or for specific cases. In instances where such directives are issued, anyone who violates any such regulation established in this regard may face a fine of up to twenty-five rupees.

Case Law

• Seema v. Ashwani Kumar (2006): The SC stated that registration of a marriage should establish the legal presumption of marriage, necessitating that individuals of all religious backgrounds must register their marriages in the state where the marriage took place. The court also directed that the State and Central Government should endeavour to create rules/regulation/ procedure for registration of marriages.