The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
ACT NO.25 OF
1955
[18th May, 1955]
An Act to amend and codify
the law relating to marriage among Hindus.
BE it enacted by
Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows
:-
PRELIMINARY
1.Short title and extent.-
(1) This Act may be called the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
(2)
It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and
Kashmir, and applies also to Hindus domiciled in the territories to
which this Act extends who are outside the said
territories.
2.Application of Act.- (1)
This Act applies-
(a) to any person who is a Hindu by
religion in any of its forms or developments, including a
Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or
Arya Samam,
(b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or
Sikh by religion, and
(c) to any other person domiciled in
the territories to which this Act extends who is not a Muslim,
Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion, unless it is proved that any
such person would not have been governed by the Hindu law or by any
custom or usage as part of that law in respect of any of the matters
dealt with herein if this Act had not been
passed.
Explanation.-The following persons are Hindus,
Buddhists, Jainas or Sikhs by religion, as the case may
be:-
(a) any child, legitimate or illegitimate, both of whose
parents are Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas or Sikhs by
religion;
(b) any child, legitimate or illegitimate, one of
whose parents is a Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion and
who is brought up as a member of the tribe, community, group or
family to which such parent belongs or belonged; and
(c) any
person who is a convert or re-convert to the Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina
or Sikh religion.
(2) Notwithstanding any thing contained in
sub-section (1), nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the
members of any Scheduled tribe within the meaning of clause (25) of
article 366 of the Constitution unless the Central Government, by
notification in the Official Gazette, otherwise directs.
(3)
The expression 'Hindu' in any portion of this Act shall be construed
as if it included a person who, though not a Hindu by religion, is,
nevertheless, a person to whom this Act applies by virtue of the
provisions contained in this section.
3.Definitions.- In this
Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) the
expressions "custom" and "usage" signify any rule which, having been
continuously and uniformly observed for a long time, has obtained
the force of law among Hindus in any local area, tribe, community,
group or family:
Provided that the rule is certain and not
unreasonable or opposed to public policy; and
Provided
further that in the case of a rule applicable only to a family it
has not been discontinued by the family;
(b) "district court"
means, in any area for which there is a city civil court, that
court, and in any other area the principal civil court of original
jurisdiction, and includes any other civil court which may be
specified by the State Government, by notification in the Official
Gazette, as having jurisdiction in respect of the matters dealt with
in this Act;
(c) "full blood" and "half blood"-two persons
are said to be related to each other by full blood when they are
descended from a common ancestor by the same wife and by half blood
when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different
wives;
(d) "uterine blood"- two persons are said to be
related to each other by uterine blood when they are descended from
a common ancestress but by different
husbands;
Explanation.-In clauses (c) and (d), "ancestor"
includes the father and "ancestress" the mother;
(e)
"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act;
(f) (i) "sapinda relationship" with reference to any
person extends as far as the third generation (inclusive) in the
line of ascent through the mother, and the fifth (inclusive) in the
line of ascent through the father, the line being traced upwards in
each case from the person concerned, who is to be counted as the
first generation;
(ii) two persons are said to be "sapindas"
of each other if one is a lineal ascendant of the other within the
limits of sapinda relationship, or if they have a common lineal
ascendant who is within the limits of sapinda relationship with
reference to each of them;
(g) "degrees of prohibited
relationship"-two persons are said to be within the "degrees of
prohibited relationship"-
(i) if one is a lineal ascendant of
the other; or
(ii) if one was the wife or husband of a lineal
ascendant or descendant of the other ; or
(iii) 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
(iv) 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;
Explanation.-For the purposes of
clauses (f) and (g), relationship includes-
(i) relationship
by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood;
(ii)
illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate;
(iii)
relationship by adoption as well as by blood
and all terms of
relationship in those clauses shall be construed
accordingly.
4.Over-riding effect of Act.-
Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act,-
(a)
any text, rule or interpretation of Hindu law or any custom or usage
as part of that law in force immediately before the commencement of
this Act shall cease to have effect with respect to any matter for
which provision is made in this Act;
(b) any other law in
force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to
have effect in so far as it is inconsistent with any of the
provisions contained in this Act.
HINDU MARRIAGES
5.Conditions for a Hindu
marriage.- A marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus,
if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:-
(i)
neither party has a spouse living at the time of the
marriage;
(ii) neither party is an idiot or a lunatic at the
time of the marriage;
(iii) the bridegroom has completed the
age of eighteen years and the bride the age of fifteen years at the
time of the marriage;
(iv) 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;
(v) the parties are not sapindas of each other, unless
the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage
between the two;
(vi) where the bride has not completed the
age of eighteen years, the consent of her guardian in marriage, if
any, has been obtained for the marriage.
6.Guardianship in
marriage.- (1) Wherever the consent of a guardian in marriage is
necessary for a bride under this Act, the persons entitled to give
such consent shall be the following in the order specified there
under, namely:-
(a) the father;
(b) the
mother;
(c) the paternal grandfather;
(d) the paternal
grandmother;
(e) the brother by full blood; as between
brothers the elder being preferred;
(f) the brother by half
blood; as between brothers by half blood the elder being
preferred:
Provided that the bride is living with him and is
being brought up by him;
(g) the paternal uncle by full
blood; as between paternal uncles the elder being
preferred;
(h) the paternal uncle by half blood; as between
paternal uncles by half blood the elder being
preferred:
Provided that the bride is living with him and is
being brought up by him;
(i) the maternal
grandfather;
(j) the maternal grandmother;
(k) the
maternal uncle by full blood; as between maternal uncles the elder
being preferred:
Provided that the bride is living with him
and is being brought up by him.
(2) No person shall be
entitled to act as a guardian in marriage under the provisions of
this section unless such person has himself completed his or her
twenty-first year.
(3) Where any person entitled to be the
guardian in marriage under the foregoing provisions refuses, or is
for any cause unable or unfit, to act as such, the person next in
order shall be entitled to be the guardian.
(4) In the
absence of any such person as is referred to in sub-section (1), the
consent of a guardian shall not be necessary for a marriage under
this Act.
(5) Nothing in this Act shall affect the
jurisdiction of a court to prohibit by injunction an intended
marriage, if in the interest of the bride for whose marriage consent
is required, the court thinks it necessary to do so.
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.
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 Register 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 in 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 extend 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 given by the Registrar on payment to him
of the prescribed fee.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained
in this section, the validity of any Hindu marriage shall in no way
be affected by the omission to make the entry.
RESTITUTION OF CONJUGAL RIGHTS
AND JUDICIAL SEPARATION
9.Restitution of conjugal
rights.- (1) 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 rights accordingly.
(2)
Nothing shall be pleaded in answer to a petition for restitution of
conjugal rights which shall not be a ground for judicial separation
or for nullity of marriage or for divorce.
10.Judicial separation.-
(1) Either party to a marriage, whether solemnized before or after
the commencement of this Act, may present a petition to the district
court praying for a decree for judicial separation on the ground
that the other party-
(a) has deserted the petitioner for a
continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding
the presentation of the petition; or
(b) has treated the
petitioner with such cruelty as to cause a reasonable apprehension
in the mind of the petitioner that it will be harmful or injurious
for the petitioner to live with the other party; or
(c) has,
for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the
presentation of the petition, been suffering from a virulent form of
leprosy; or
(d) has, immediately before the presentation of
the petition, been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable
form, the disease not having been contracted from the petitioner;
or
(e) has been continuously of unsound mind for a period of
not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of
the petition; or
(f) has, after the solemnization of the
marriage, had sexual intercourse with any person other than his or
her spouse.
Explanation.-In this section, the expression
"desertion", with its grammatical variations and cognate
expressions, 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 wilful
neglect of the petitioner by the other party to the
marriage.
(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.
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, 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.
12.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 respondent was impotent at the time of the marriage and
continued to be so until the institution of the proceedings;
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 is required under section 5, the consent
of such guardian was obtained by force or fraud; 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 for 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 had 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 the 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 of such commencement and in
the case of marriages solemnized after such commencement 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
grounds for a decree.
13.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) is living in adultery; or
(ii) has
ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion;
or
(iii) has been incurably of unsound mind for a continuous
period of not less than three years immediately preceding the
presentation of the petition; or
(iv) has, for a period of
not less than three years immediately preceding the presentation of
the petition, been suffering from a virulent and incurable form of
leprosy; or
(v) had, for a period of not less than three
years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition, been
suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form;
or
(vi) has renounced the world by entering any religious
order; or
(vii) 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; or
(viii) has
not resumed cohabitation for a space of two years or upwards after
the passing of a decree for judicial separation against that party;
or
(ix) has failed to comply with a decree for restitution of
conjugal rights for a period of two years or upwards after the
passing of the decree.
(2) A wife may also present a petition
for the dissolution of her marriage by a decree of divorce on the
ground,-
(i) in the case of 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
(ii) that the husband has,
since the solemnization of the marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy
or bestiality.
14.No
petition for divorce to be presented within three years of
marriage.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act,
it shall not be competent for any court to entertain any petition
for dissolution of a marriage by a decree of divorce, unless at the
date of the presentation of the petition three years have elapsed
since the date of the marriage:
Provided that the court may,
upon application made to it in accordance with such rules as may be
made by the High Court in that behalf , allow a petition to be
presented before three years have elapsed since the date of the
marriage on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship
to the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the
respondent, but, if it appears to the court at the hearing of the
petition that the petitioner obtained leave to present the petition
by any misrepresentation or concealment of the nature of the case,
the court may, if it pronounces a decree, do so subject to the
condition that the decree shall not have effect until after the
expiry of three years from the date of the marriage or may dismiss
the petition without prejudice to any petition which may be brought
after the expiration of the said three years upon the same or
substantially the same facts as those alleged in support of the
petition so dismissed.
(2) In disposing of any application
under this section for leave to present a petition for divorce
before the expiration of three years from the date of the marriage,
the court shall have regard to the interests of any children of the
marriage and to the question whether there is a reasonable
probability of a reconciliation between the parties before the
expiration of the said three years.
15.Divorced persons 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:
Provided that it shall
not be lawful for the respective parties to marry again unless at
the date of such marriage at least one year has elapsed from the
date of the decree in the court of the first instance.
16.Legitimacy of children of
void and voidable, marriages.- Where a decree of nullity is
granted in respect of any marriage under section 11 or section 12,
any child begotten or conceived before the decree is made who would
have been the legitimate child of the parties to the marriage if it
had been dissolved instead of having been declared null and void or
annulled by a decree of nullity shall be deemed to be their
legitimate child notwithstanding the decree of nullity
:
Provided that nothing contained in this section shall be
construed as conferring upon any child of a marriage which is
declared null and void or annulled by a decree of nullity any rights
in or to the property of any person other than the parents in any
case where, but for the passing of this Act, such child would have
been incapable of possessing or acquiring any such rights by reason
of his not being the legitimate child of his parents.
17.Punishment of bigamy.-
Any marriage between two Hindus solemnized after the commencement of
this Act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a
husband or wife living; and the provisions of sections 494 and 495
of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), shall apply
accordingly.
18.Punishment for contravention
of certain other conditions for a Hindu marriage.- Every person
who procures a marriage of himself or herself to be solemnized under
this Act in contravention of the conditions specified in clauses
(iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) of section 5 shall be
punishable-
(a) in the case of a contravention of the
condition specified in clause (iii) of section 5, with simple
imprisonment which may extend to fifteen days, or with fine which
may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both;
(b) in the
case of a contravention of the condition specified in clause (iv) or
clause (v) of section 5, with simple imprisonment which may extend
to one month, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees,
or with both; and
(c) in the case of a contravention of the
condition specified in clause (vi) of section 5, with fine which may
extend to one
JURISDICTION AND
PROCEDURE
19.Court to which petition
should be made.- Every petition under this Act shall be
presented to the district court within the local limits of whose
ordinary original civil jurisdiction the marriage was solemnized or
the husband and wife reside or last resided together.
20.Contents and verification of
petitions.- (1) Every petition presented under this Act shall
state as distinctly as the nature of the case permits the facts on
which the claim to relief is founded and shall also state that there
is no collusion between the petitioner and the other party to the
marriage.
(2) The statements contained in every petition
under this Act shall be verified by the petitioner or some other
competent person in the manner required by law for the verification
of plaints, and may, at the hearing, be referred to as
evidence.
21.Application of Act 5 of
1908.- Subject to the other provisions contained in this Act and
to such rules as the High Court may make in this behalf, all
proceedings under this Act shall be regulated, as far as may be, by
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).
22.Proceedings may be in camera
and may not be printed or published.- (1) a proceeding under
this Act shall be conducted in camera if either party so desires or
if the court so thinks fit to do, and it shall not be lawful for any
person to print or publish any matter in relation to any such
proceeding except with the previous permission of the
court.
(2) If any person prints or publishes any matter in
contravention of the provisions contained in sub-section (1), he
shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand
rupees.
23.Decree in
proceedings.- (1) In any proceeding under this Act, whether
defended or not, if the court is satisfied that-
(a) any of
the grounds for granting relief exists and the petitioner is not in
any way taking advantage of his or her own wrong or disability for
the purpose of such relief, and
(b) where the ground of the
petition is the ground specified in clause (f) of sub-section (1) of
section 10, or in clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 13, the
petitioner has not in any manner been accessory to or connived at or
condoned the act or acts complained of, or where the ground of the
petition is cruelty the petitioner has not in any manner condoned
the cruelty, and
(c) the petition is not presented or
prosecuted in collusion with the respondent, and
(d) there
has not been any unnecessary or improper delay in instituting the
proceeding, and
(e) there is no other legal ground why relief
should not be granted,
then, and in such a case, but not
otherwise, the court shall decree such relief
accordingly.
(2) Before proceeding to grant any relief under
this Act, it shall be the duty of the court in the first instance,
in every case where it is possible so to do consistently with the
nature and circumstances of the case, to make every endeavour to
bring about a reconciliation between the parties.
24.Maintenance pendente lite
and expenses of proceedings.- Where in any proceeding under this
Act it appears to the court that either the wife or the husband, as
the case may be, has no independent income sufficient for her or his
support and the necessary expenses of the proceeding, it may, on the
application of the wife or the husband, order the respondent to pay
to the petitioner the expenses of the proceeding, and monthly during
the proceeding such sum as, having regard to the petitioner's own
income and the income of the respondent, it may seem to the court to
be reasonable.
Comment: Amount
awarded under section 125 Cr.P.C. adjustable against the amount
granted under this section. Sudeep Chaudhary v. Radha
Chaudhary. AIR 1999 SUPREME COURT 536
25.Permanent alimony and
maintenance.- (1) Any court exercising jurisdiction under this
Act may, at the time of passing any decree or at any time subsequent
thereto, on application made to it for the purpose by either the
wife or the husband, as the case may be, order that the respondent
shall, while the applicant remains unmarried, pay to the applicant
for her or his maintenance and support such gross sum or such
monthly or periodical sum for a term not exceeding the life of the
applicant as, having regard to the respondent's own income and other
property, if any, the income and other property of the applicant and
the conduct of the parties, it may seem to the court to be just, and
any such payment may be secured, if necessary, by a charge on the
immovable property of the respondent.
(2) If the court is
satisfied that there is a change in the circumstances of either
party at any time after it has made an order under sub-section (1),
it may, at the instance of either party, vary, modify or rescind any
such order in such manner as the court may deem just.
(3) If
the court is satisfied that the party in whose favour an order has
been made under this section has remarried or, if such party is the
wife, that she has not remained chaste, or, if such party is the
husband, that he has had sexual intercourse with any woman outside
wedlock, it shall rescind the order.
26.Custody of children.- In
any proceeding under this Act, the court may, from time to time,
pass such interim orders and make such provisions in the decree as
it may deem just and proper with respect to the custody, maintenance
and education of minor children, consistently with their wishes,
wherever possible, and may, after the decree, upon application by
petition for the purpose, make from time to time, all such orders
and provisions with respect to the custody, maintenance and
education of such children as might have been made by such decree or
interim orders in case the proceeding for obtaining such decree were
still pending, and the court may also from time to time revoke,
suspend or vary any such orders and provisions previously
made.
27.Disposal of
property.- In any proceeding under this Act, the court may make
such provisions in the decree as it deems just and proper with
respect to any property presented, at or about the time of marriage,
which may belong jointly to both the husband and the wife.
28.Enforcement of, and appeal
from, decrees and orders.- All decrees and orders made by the
court in any proceeding under this Act shall be enforced in like
manner as the decrees and orders of the court made in the exercise
of the original civil jurisdiction are enforced, and may be appealed
from under any law for the time being in force.
Provided that
there shall be no appeal on the subject of costs only.
SAVINGS AND
REPEALS
29.Savings.- (1) A marriage
solemnized between Hindus before the commencement of this Act, which
is otherwise valid, shall not be deemed to be invalid or even to
have been invalid by reason only of the fact that the parties
thereto belonged to the same gotra or pravara or belonged to
different religions, castes or sub-divisions of the same
caste.
(2) Nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to
affect any right recognised by custom or conferred by any special
enactment to obtain the dissolution of a Hindu marriage, whether
solemnized before or after the commencement of this Act.
(3)
Nothing contained in this Act shall affect any proceeding under any
law for the time being in force for declaring any marriage to be
null and void or for annulling or dissolving any marriage or for
judicial separation pending at the commencement of this Act, and any
such proceeding may be continued and determined as if this Act had
not been passed.
(4) Nothing contained in this Act shall be
deemed to affect the provisions contained in the Special marriage
Act, 1954 (43 of 1954) with respect to marriages between Hinds
solemnized under that Act, whether before or after the commencement
of this Act.
30.Repeals.- The Hindu
Marriage Disabilities Removal Act, 1946 (28 of 1946), the Hindu
Marriages Validity Act, 1949 (21 of 1949), the Bombay Prevention of
Hindu Bigamous marriages Act, 1946 (Bom.25 of 1946), the Bombay
Hindu Divorce Act, 1947 (Bom.22 of 1947), the madras Hindu (Bigamy
Prevention and Divorce) Act, 1949 (Mad.6 of 1949), the Saurashtra
Prevention of Hindu Bigamous Marriages Act, 1950 (Souras.5 of 1950)
and the Saurashtra Hindu Divorce Act, 1952 (Sauras.30 of 1952) are
hereby repealed.