Hindu Marriage

As per India legal news reports, the Madras High Court has held that the courts in the country have jurisdiction to address matrimonial cases, which involve Hindus and are governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, including those cases where the opposite party is a foreign citizen, residing outside India.

India has always boasted of having a patriarchal society. Most festivals of India celebrate the importance of the male as the head of the family through elaborate customs and festivals. For example, Bengal’s Jamaishoshti festival celebrates the son-in-law. The North Indian festival called the Karva Chauth requires the wife to hold fast for the long life of her husband on that day. Male centric customs and festivals have always been a part of Indian life, mirroring the special social status given to men. Unfortunately, these male-focused customs also paved the way for the practice of demanding dowry on behalf of the male. Indian law treats it as an offence to give or receive dowry but it is practiced openly in the society.

Hindu law pertains to issues affecting Hindus at large, such as marriage, divorce, adoption, and succession. Section 27 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, provides for disposal of property at the time of dissolution of marriage. According to this section, the court can make such provisions in the ruling/order as it required with respect to any property that may have been gifted, at or about the time of marriage, which belongs jointly to both the husband and the wife.

Divorce is the formal termination or legal dissolution of a marriage. Every nation has distinct laws safeguarding the rights of both the spouses in a marriage. In India, the laws take into account religious distinctions. Divorce of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains is governed by the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, divorce of Muslims is governed by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act of 1939 and Christians need to follow the laws laid down under the Indian Divorce Act of 1869. There are separate laws for inter-cast or inter-religion marriages. These fall under the Special Marriage Act of 1954.

All personal laws in India do not treat the ‘second wife’ equally. Typically, a second wife is given an inferior status in Indian society, particularly if the first legally wedded wife is still alive. It is not unusual even for family members to look down on the second wife as the ‘other woman.’ There are no separate provisions in Indian law, which define the legal position of second wives simply because the law does not recognize the second wife unless the man has obtained divorce from the first wife.

Since time immemorial, there is social stigma surrounding a child who is not born to legally wedded/married parents. This is no different under Hindu law. A child is considered illegitimate when he/she is born to parents who were not legally married to each other at the time of the child’s birth. In a landmark case, Mongal Chandra v. Dhirendra, AIR 1976 Cal. 129, the court recognized an illegitimate son as the son of a permanent and exclusive mistress of a particular person.

Hindu law does not recognize the legal right of a concubine to claim maintenance. A concubine is a woman who cohabits with a man to whom she is not legally married. Simply put, we are talking about a mistress. A concubine is usually given an inferior position in the Indian society as compared to a legally wedded wife. In Hindu law, such a woman is termed as ‘Avarudha Stri.’ In earlier times, it was believed that such a woman should live in the family home of her paramour.

A widowed daughter-in-law is entitled to get maintenance from her father-in-law under section 19, of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. Now the question arises whether a daughter-in-law can claim maintenance from the property of her mother-in-laws under Hindu law. Here’s an interesting real life saas-bahu case to take this discussion forward.

Getting a divorce in India is certainly not an easy procedure, whether you follow Hindu marriage law or special marriage law. The whole procedure includes many emotional highs and lows and long waits for the final outcome. Before going ahead with the divorce procedure, prepare yourself for the long process ahead.

Under Indian marriage laws, a marriage can be set aside if the consent for it was secured by fraud or misrepresentation of facts. This is not so easy to prove. However, it must be noted that fraud is not defined in the Indian marriage laws. So, any type of fraud cannot be taken as a ground for matrimonial relief.