Hindu Marriage Act
The Hindu Marriage Act was established by the Indian Parliament in 1955 as part of the Hindu Code Bills. Three other important acts were also created during this time and they include the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956), and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956). All of these acts were put forth under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, and were meant to modernize the then current Hindu legal tradition.
Purpose
As part of the Hindu Code Bill, the Hindu Marriage Act was enacted by parliament in 1955. It is an act to amend and codify the marriage law among Hindus. Its purpose was to regulate personal life among Hindus, especially their institution of marriage, its validity, conditions for in-validity, and applicability.
Applicability
The bill was viewed as conservative because it applied to any person who is Hindu by religion in any of its forms, but it was also modern in the sense that it recognizes the modern offshoots of the Hindu religion (Jains, Buddhists, or Sikhs) as specified in Article 44 of the Indian Constitution.[1] This act also applies to any person who is a permanent resident in the jurisdiction where this act applies who is not Muslim, Jew, Christian, or Parsi by religion. However, with the passage of Anand Karj marriage act, Sikhs now also have their own personal laws related to marriage.[2]
Hindu view of marriage
According to the tenets of Hinduism, marriage is a sacred relationship, a sacrament, and a divine covenant meant for procreation and continuation of family lineage.[3] It is a vow between two people to stay together and uphold traditional family values in accordance with Dharma. In the traditional Hindu system of marriage, there is no role for the state as marriage remained a private affair within the social realm.[4] Within this traditional framework reference, marriage is undoubtedly the most important transitional point in a Hindu's life and the most important of all the Hindu samskaras, or life-cycle rituals.[4]
Conditions
The conditions[5] of marriage are specified in Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The act expressively prohibits polygamy by stipulating that a Hindu marriage can be solemnized between two Hindus if neither party has a living spouse at the time of marriage;[3] The conditions also stipulate that at the time of the marriage, neither party is incapable of giving valid consent or suffering from a mental illness that inhibits their fitness for marriage or procreation of children or suffering from recurrent episodes of insanity or epilepsy. In the original Act, the age of valid marriage was fixed at 18 for the boys and 15 for the girls, however this age requirement was later raised to 21 and 18 respectively for the boys and the girls though the Child marriage restraint (amendment) Act 1978. Finally, the act specifically prevents marriages between prohibited degrees of relationships.[1]
Guardianship
Section 6 of the Hindu Marriage Act specifies the guardianship for marriage. Wherever the consent of a guardian in marriage is necessary for a bride under this Act, the persons entitled to give such consent are the following: the father; the mother; the paternal grandfather; the paternal grandmother; the brother by full blood; the brother by half blood; etc.[6] The Guardianship For Marriage was repealed in 1978 after the Child Marriage Restraint Amendment was passed. This was an amendment that increased the minimum age requirement for marriage in order to prevent child marriages.[7]
Ceremonies
Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act recognizes the ceremonies and customs of marriage. Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party. Such rites and rituals include the Saptapadi—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
As stated in Section 8. the state government may make rules for the registration of Hindu marriages that the parties to any of such marriages may have particulars relating to their marriages entered in such a manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in the Hindu Marriage Register. This registration is for the purpose of facilitating the proof of Hindu marriages. All rules made in this section may be laid before the state legislature. The Hindu Marriage Register should be open for inspection at all reasonable times and should be admissible as evidence of the statements contained therein.
Nullity of Marriage and Divorce
Any marriage can be voidable and may be annulled on the following grounds: the marriage has not been consummated due to impotency, contravention of the valid consent mental illness condition specified in Section 5, or that the respondent at the time of the marriage was pregnant by someone other than the petitioner. Divorce can be sought by husband or wife on certain grounds, including: adultery, cruelty, continuous period of desertion for two or more years, conversion to a religion other than Hindu, mental abnormality, venereal disease, and leprosy. A wife can also present a petition for the dissolution of marriage on the ground of if the husband marries again after the commencement of his first marriage or if the husband has been guilty of rape, sodomy, or bestiality. Despite the fact that marriage is held to be divine, the act does permit one spouse to separate if he/she is unhappy, if he/she can prove or identify the circumstances that have made the union untenable.[9] Newly married couples cannot file a petition for divorce within one year of marriage.
Future
As of late, there has been a realization that Hindu marriage, as a central element of society, cannot be subjected to legislative intervention; this realization has led to legislative inaction and a refusal by the state to get involved in the regulation of Hindu marriage.[4] Derrett predicted in his later writings that despite some evidence of modernization, the dominant view in Hindu society for the foreseeable future would remain that marriage is a form of social obligation.[4] There have been attempts to amend the Hindu Marriage Act, especially as of recently. There was a bill proposed to amend the existing laws, making divorce easier in the case of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The proposed bill made provisions under which adopted children will have rights on the same level as biological offspring in case the parents do divorce, and it would also give women a share in her husband's property. However, there is strong opposition to this bill due to the objection that it will create hardships for women, and that the bill strongly supports one party while both parties should be treated equal in divorce.[10]>
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_Marriage_Act
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