Personal Law

In Buddhism, a follower or believer of the religion is not forced to remain celibate or unmarried. Of course, Buddhist monks do not marry as they practice celibacy. The reason is not only to serve mankind but also that there are no such Buddhist laws that require them to get married.

Did you know that, under Indian laws, a grandfather is under the obligation to provide maintenance for his grandchildren if they are not capable of taking care of themselves? This applies in Hindu law even when

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.

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.

Under Indian marriage laws, collusion is an illicit clandestine agreement between the parties so as to further a common object by in the garb of hostility. According to Rayden, ‘collusion means an agreement or bargain between the parties to a suit or their agents, whereby the initiation of the suit is procured or its conduct provided for.’

The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, regulate the laws pertaining to minority and guardianship among Hindus. It extends to whole of India except for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Few important definitions under the Act are:

In every family, certain relationships impose legal obligations and responsibilities depending on the nature of the relationship. In Hindu law, a daughter has a right to claim maintenance from her father. The term ‘maintenance’ includes provisions for basic facilities, such as food, clothing, shelter, education and medical treatment. On the event of the father’s death, the unmarried or widowed daughters can be considered as his dependents and they can claim maintenance from his property.

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, was framed by the government to amend and codify the existing Hindu marriage laws. The Act extends to the whole of India except for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is applicable to all Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs domiciled in the territories under the Act.

A Khap is a group of villages united together by similar caste and geographical terrains. It is a very old concept that originated in the 14^th century, and was established by the upper class Jat community. It is based on the principle that all boys and girls within a Khap are considered belonging to the same clan. A Khap Panchayat governs the affairs of all the villages that constitute the Khap. Khap Panchayats are common in the villages of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.