CHAPTER 2
HINDU MARRIAGES
5. Conditions for a Hindu marriage.- A marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus, if the following conditions are fulfilled , named: –
(1) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage ;
(2) at the time of the marriage , neither –
(a) is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind ; or
(b) though capable of giving a valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder og such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; or
(c) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity
(3) the bridegroom has completed the age of (twenty-one-years) and the bride, the age of (eighteen years ) at the time of marriage ;
(4) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship , unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between two ;
(5) the parties are not sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two
6. Guardianship in marriage.- (1) (Omitted by the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 (2of1978), ,section 6 and Schedule (w.e.f. 1-10-1978)
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 os 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
8. registration of Hindu marriages.– (1) For the purpose of facilitating the proof of Hindu marriages, the State Government may make rules providing that the parties to any such marriage may have the particulars relating to their marriage entered in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in a Hindu marriage registered kept for the purpose.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) the state Government may, if it is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do, provide that the entering of the particulars referred to in sub-section (1) shall be compulsory in the State or any part thereof whether in all cases or in such cases as may be specified, and where any such direction has been issued, any person contravening any rule made in this behalf shall be punishable with fine which may extent to twenty- five rupees.
(3) All rules made under this section shall be laid before the state legislature , as soon as may be , after they are made .
(4) The Hindu Marriage Register shall at all reasonable times be open for inspection, and shall be admissible as evidence of the statements therein contained and certified extracts therefrom shall, on application, be giving by the Registrar on payment to him of the prescribed fee.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the validity of Hindu marriage shall in no way be affected by the omission to make the entry.
CHAPTER 3
RESTITUTION OF CONJUGAL RIGHTS AND JUDICIAL SEPARATION
- Restitution of conjugal rights.— When either the husband or the wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply, by petition to the district Court, for restitution of conjugal rights and the Court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal [Explanation. -Where a question arises whether there has been reasonable Enter excuse for withdrawal from the society, the burden of proving reasonable excuse shall be on the person who has withdrawn from the society.
- Judicial separation. —(1) Either party to a marriage, whether
solemnized before or after the commencement of this Act, may present a petition praying for a decree for judicial separation on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (1) of section 13, and in the case of a wife also on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (2) thereof, as grounds on which a petition for divorce might have been presented.]
(2) Where a decree for judicial separation has been passed, it shall no longer be obligatory for the petitioner to cohabit with the respondent, but the Court may, on the application by petition of either party and on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition, rescind the decree if it considers it just and reasonable to do so.
CHAPTER 4
NULLITY OF MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
11. Void marriages.- Any marriage solemnized after the commencement of this Act shall be null and void and may, on a petition presented by either party thereto, (against the other party) be so declared by a decree of nullity if it contravenes any one of the conditions specified in clauses (1), (4), (5) of section 5.
12. Voidable marriage.– (1) Any marriage solemnized , whether before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be voidable and may be annulled by a decree of nullity on any of the following grounds, namely;-
(a) that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotence of the respondent; or
(b) that the marriage is in contravention of the condition specified in clause (2) of section 5; or
(c) that the consent of the petitioner, or where the consent of the guardian in marriage of the petition (was required under section 5, as it stood immediately before the commencement of the child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978) the consent of such guardian was obtained by force (Or by fraud as to the nature of the ceremony or as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the respondent); or
(d) that the respondent was expecting a child from someone other than the petitioner at the time of the marriage.
(2) Regardless of what is stated in sub-section (1), no petition to dissolve a marriage may be filed on the grounds listed in clause (c) of sub-section (*) if i) the petitioner has, with his or her full consent, lived with the other party to the marriage as husband or wife after the force has ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud has been discovered; (b) on the grounds listed in clause (d) of sub-section (1) unless the Court is satisfied that (i) the petitioner was not aware of the alleged facts at the time of the marriage; (i) that proceedings
have been established within a year of the start of this Act in the case of a marriage consummated prior to its start, and within a year of the marriage date in the case of marriages consummated following its start; and (in) that marital relations with the petitioner’s consent has not occurred since the petitioner discovered the existence of the aforementioned ground.
13.Divorce. (1) Any marriage that has been formally consummated, whether before or after the implementation of this Act, may be dissolved by a divorce decree upon a petition filed by either the husband or the wife, on the grounds that the other party has 2[(i)] engaged in voluntary sexual relations with another individual after the marriage was solemnized.
than his or her spouse; or (i-a) has cruelly treated the petitioner after the marriage was solemnized;
or (i-b) has abandoned the petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years prior to the petition’s presentation; or (i) has converted to another religion and ceased to be a Hindu; or (ii) 3((iii) has been mentally ill with an incurable illness, or has been sputtering continuously or intermittently from a mental illness of such a kind and extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.
Justification. The term “mental disorder” in this section refers to any mental illness, psychopathic disorder, arrested or incomplete mental development, or any mental sickness or impairment, and it includes schizophrenia; or (b) “psychopathic disorder” refers to a persistent mental illness (whether or not it involves the other party’s sub normality of careless behavior, and whether or not it involves intelligence) that causes abnormal aggression or necessitates or is amenable to medical treatment; or (v) has 2| been afflicted with a communicable disease; or
(vi) has renounced the world by joining a religious order; or (vii) has not been heard of as alive for seven years or longer by those who would have heard of it, had that party been alive; 31].
[Explanation.] The term “desertion” in this subsection refers to the other party’s abandonment of the petitioner in the marriage without a valid reason, without the agreement of the other party, or against the wishes of that party, and includes the other party’s willful neglect of the petitioner; its grammatical variants and related expressions will be interpreted accordingly.]
°[(1-A)] Any party to a marriage, whether it was consummated before or after the start of this Act, may also file for divorce on the grounds that (i) there hasn’t been a return to cohabitation between the parties for a year or more after a judicial separation decree was passed in a proceeding in which they were parties, or (iï) there hasn’t been any restitution. of conjugal rights as between the spouses for a year] or later on following the issuance of a decree for the restoration of conjugal rights in a case in which they were involved.]
(2) A wife may also file a petition for the dissolution of her marriage by a divorce decree on the grounds that: (i) in the event that the marriage was consummated prior to the start of this Act, the husband had remarried prior to the start of this Act, or that the petitioner’s other wife was still alive at the time of the solemnization of the marriage, provided that the other wife is still alive in either scenario. of the petition; or (il) that the husband has engaged in rape, sodomy, or “bestiality” since the marriage was formally consummated; or
2(iii) that a decree or order, as the case may be, has been issued against the husband for granting maintenance to the wife despite the fact that she was living apart, and that cohabitation between the parties has not been resumed for a year or more since the decree or order was passed in a suit under section 18 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (78 of 1956), in a proceeding under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), or under the corresponding section 488 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898); or
(z0) that she rejected her marriage after reaching the a
13-A Alternate relief in divorce proceedings– In any proceeding under this Act, the Court may, if it deems it appropriate given the facts of the case, issue a divorce decree in lieu of a dissolution of marriage petition, unless the petition is based on the grounds listed in clauses (i), (vi), and (vii) of sub-section (1) of section 13.judicial separation decree.]
13-B. Divorce by mutual consent – In accordance with the provisions of this Act, both parties to a marriage, regardless of whether the marriage was consummated before or after the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976, may petition the district court for a divorce decree, which would dissolve the marriage, on the grounds that they have been living apart for a year or longer, have been unable to cohabitate, and have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved.
2) On both parties’ motion, which must be submitted no sooner than six months following the date the petition mentioned in sub-section was presented(And not later than eighteen months after the aforementioned date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the interim, the Court shall, upon being satisfied, after hearing the parties and conducting any investigation it deems appropriate, issue a decree stating that a marriage has been consummated and that the allegations in the petition are true.)
of divorce, stating that the marriage is dissolved as on decree.
14. No petition for divorce to be presented within one year of marriage. — (1) Regardless of what this Act says, no court has the authority to consider a petition for a divorce decree that would dissolve a marriage, “unless on the day the petition is presented (And not later than eighteen months after the aforementioned date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the interim, the Court shall, upon being satisfied, after hearing the parties and conducting any investigation it deems appropriate, issue a decree stating that a marriage has been consummated and that the allegations in the petition are true.)
of divorce, stating that the marriage is dissolved as on decree.
With the caveat that the Court may, upon application submitted in line with any rules the High Court may establish in this regard, permit a petition to be presented [before a year has passed] since the marriage date on the grounds that the case involves extraordinary hardship for the petitioner or extraordinary depravity on the part of the respondent; however, if it seems to the Court during the petition hearing that the petitioner obtained permission to present the petition through any deception or that it was brought to the attention of the court after the [expiration of one year] from the date of the marriage could dismiss the petition without affecting any subsequent petitions that may be filed on the same or nearly identical facts as those claimed in support of the petition thus dismissed after the aforementioned year has passed.
(2) The Court will consider the interests of any children of the marriage as well as the question of whether there is a reasonable chance that the parties will reconcile before the [said one year] has passed when deciding any application under this section for permission to file for divorce before the [expiration of one year] from the date of the marriage.
15 Divorced when may marry again. —When a marriage has been dissolved by a decree of divorce and either there is no right of appeal against the decree or, if there is such a right of appeal, the time for appealing has expired without an appeal having been presented or an appeal has been presented but has been dismissed, it shall be lawful for either party to the marriage to marry again:
[16. legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages–(1) Even though a marriage is void under section 11, any child born out of that marriage that would have been legitimate had the marriage been lawful will be legitimate, regardless of whether the child is born before or after the start of the Marriage Laws Amendment) Act, 19/6, as well as whether or not the marriage is deemed void other than in response to a petition under this Act and whether or not a declaration of nullity is issued about that marriage under this Act.
If a decree of nullity is issued regarding a voidable marriage under section 12, any child born or conceived prior to the decree that would have been the parties’ legitimate child if the marriage had been dissolved on the date of the decree rather than annulled will be considered their legitimate child regardless of the nullity decree.
In any situation where, but for the passage of this Act, the child would not have been able to possess or acquire any such rights because he is not the legitimate child of his parents, nothing in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be interpreted as granting any child of a marriage that is null and void or that is annulled by a decree of nullity under section 12 any rights in or to the property of any person other than the parents.
17.Punishment of bigamy – Any Hindu marriage consummated after the Act’s implementation is null and void if either spouse was still alive on the wedding date; and the requirements of sections or wife living; and the Indian Penal Code’s sections 494 and 495 will be applied appropriately.
18.Punishment for contravention of certain other conditions for a Hindu marriages — Any individual who arranges for their own marriage to be solemnized under this Act in violation of the conditions outlined in clauses (i), (iv), “and (v)” of section 5 will be punished: 2(a) if the condition outlined in clause (in) of section 5 is broken, with rigorous imprisonment up to two years, a fine up to one lakh rupees, or both;] (b) if the condition outlined in clause (io) or clause (v) of section 5 is broken, with either a fine of up to one thousand rupees, simple imprisonment for a maximum of one month, or both.