Hindu Marriages

CONCEPT OF MARRIAGE:

In broad sense marriage is a legal and social sanction of union of man and women that gives the status of husband and wife and legitimate their children. In Hindus marriage is a sacrament and not a contract.

WHO ARE HINDUS:

Apart from the persons professing Hinduism, the Sikhs, Jian’s and Buddhist are Hindus.

OBJECTS OFHINDU MARRAGE ACT, 1955:

The main objects of this Act are

1. To provide remedies of judicial separation
2. To prohibit polygamy
3. To bring uniformity of law for all sections of Hindus.

NULLITY OF MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

1. 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 (i), (iv) and (v) of section 5.

   
   
2. Voidable marriages----
   (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 (ii) of section 5; or
   (c) That the consent of the petitioner, or where the consent of the guardian in marriage of the petitioner [ 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 at the time of the marriage pregnant by some person other than the petitioner.
   
   (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no petition for annulling a marriage-----
   (a) on the ground specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1), shall be entertained if—
   (i) the petition is presented more than one year after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered; or
   (ii) 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 had been discovered;
   (b) on the ground specified in clause (d) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained unless the court is satisfied-----
   (i) that the petitioner was at that time of the marriage ignorant of the facts alleged
   (ii) that proceedings have been instituted in the case of a marriage solemnized before the commencement of this Act within one year from the date of the marriage; and
   (iii) that marital intercourse with the consent of the petitioner has not taken place since the discovery by the petitioner of the existence of [ the said ground].
   
   

DIVORCE: - (1)

Any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party---

(i) has after the solemnization of the marriage, had voluntary sexual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse; or
(ia) has after the solemnization of the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty;
or
(ib) has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; or

(ii) has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion; or

(iii) has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been suffering continuously or intermittent from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent. Explanation:
In this clause---

1. the expression “mental disorder” means mental illness, arrested or incomplete development of mind, psychopathic disorder or any other disorder or disability of mind and includes schizophrenia;
2. the expression “psychopathic disorder” means a persistent disorder or disability of mind (whether or not including sub-normality of intelligence) which results in abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the party, and whether or not it requires or is susceptible to medical treatment or;]

(iv) has [***] been suffering from a virulent and incurable form of leprosy or

(v) has [***] been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form;

or

(vi) has renounced the world by entering any religious order; or

(vi) has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of it, had that party been alive, [***]

Explanation-----In this sub-section, the expression “desertion” means the desertion of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage without reasonable cause and without the consent or against the wish of such party, and includes the willful neglect of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage, and its grammatical variations and cognate expression shall be constructed accordingly.

( 1A) Either party to a marriage, whether solemnized before or after the commencement of this Act, may also present a petition for the dissolution of the marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground-

1. that there has been no resumption of cohabitation as between the parties to the marriage for a period of [ one year] or upwards after the passing of a decree for judicial separation in a proceeding to which they were parties;
   or
2. that there has been no restitution of conjugal rights as between the parties to the marriage for a period of [one year] or upwards after the passing of decree for restitution of conjugal rights in a proceeding to which they were parties.]

(2) A wife may also present a petition for the dissolution of her marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground----

1. (i) in the case on any marriage solemnized before the commencement of this Act, that the husband had married again before such commencement or that any other wife of the husband married before such commencement was alive at the time of the solemnization of the marriage of the petitioner:
   Provided that in either case the other wife is alive at the time of the presentation of the petition; or
2. that the husband has, since the solemnization of the marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy or [ bestiality; or]
3. that in a suit under section 18 of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 ( 78 of 19560, or 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), a decree or order, as the case may be, has been passed against the husband awarding maintenance to the wife notwithstanding that she was living apart and that since the passing of such decree or order, cohabitation between the parties has not been resumed for one year or upwards;
4. that her marriage (whether consummated or not) was solemnized before she attained the age of fifteen years and she has repudiated the marriage after attaining that age but before attaining the age of eighteen years.

Explanation---- This clause applies whether the marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976).