LLB Paper Code: 203
Subject: Family Law – I L4 C4
Objective: The objective of the paper is to apprise the students with the laws relating to
family matters applicable to different communities in India.
Unit – I: Marriage Laws (Lectures– 10)
a. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
i. Evolution of the institution of marriage
ii. Concept of marriage
iii. Forms, validity, voidability
b. Nikah (Muslim Marriage)
i. Definition, objects and nature
ii. Essentials and validity
iii. Obligations arising out of marriage – Mahr, Maintenance etc.
c. Laws governing Christian and Parsi marriages
d. Civil Marriages
Unit – II: Dissolution of Marriage (Lectures– 10)
a. Theories of Divorce
b. Separation and Dissolution of Marriage under Hindu Law
i. Judicial separation
ii. Grounds of Divorce
iii. Divorce by mutual consent
iv. Jurisdiction and procedure
c. Dissolution of Marriage under Muslim Law
i. By death
ii. By the act of either party
iii. By mutual consent
iv. By court
v. Indian Divorce Act and Parsi Marriage Act
,Unit – III: Adoption and Maintenance (Lectures – 10)
a. Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
b. Adoption
(i) Ceremonies
(ii) Capability
(iii) Effect
c. Maintenance
i. Entitlement
ii. Enforcement
d. Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986
e. Maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Unit – IV: Guardianship (Lectures – 10)
a. Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956
b. Guardianship – Meaning
c. Kinds of Guardianship
d. Right, obligations and disqualification of guardian
e. Guardianship under Muslim Law
f. Entitlement to guardianship
g. Rights, obligations and disqualification of a guardian
, Subject: Family Law-I
Paper Code-203
Unit-I: Marriage laws
(a) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
(i)Evolution of the Institution of marriage
The Hindu Marriage Act is a law enacted by the Indian Parliament in 1955 as part of the Hindu Code Bills.
Three other important acts were also enacted during this time: 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 meant to modernize the Hindu legal tradition.
Purpose
As part of the Hindu Code Bill, the Hindu Marriage Act was enacted in 1955 by the Indian parliament. It is an
Act to amend and codify the marriage law among Hindus. Its purpose was to regulate personal life among
Hindus, especially the institution of marriage, its validity, conditions for invalidity and applicability.
"When a woman born in a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe marries to a person belonging to a forward caste,
her caste by birth does not change by virtue of the marriage. A person born as a member of a scheduled caste or
a scheduled tribe has to suffer from disadvantages, disabilities and indignities only by virtue of belonging to the
particular caste which he or she acquires involuntarily on birth. The suffering of such a person by virtue of caste
is not wiped out by a marriage with the person belonging to a forward caste. The label attached to a person born
into a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe continues notwithstanding the marriage. No material has been placed
before us by the applicant so as to point out that the caste of a person can be changed either by custom, usage,
religious sanction or provision of law."
, Applicability
The Act was viewed as conservative because it applied to any person who is Hindu by religion in any of its
forms, yet clumps other religions together into the act (Jains, Buddhists, or Sikhs) as specified in Article 44 of
the Indian Constitution. 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 law related to marriage.
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. 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. 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 ‘’sanskaras’’ (life-cycle rituals).
Therefore there was fierce religious opposition to enacting such laws for marriage, succession and adoption.
The greatest opposition was to the provision of equal inheritance by sons and daughters (male and female heirs)
whereas until then only the sons inherited property. These Acts were put forth under the leadership of Prime
Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who strongly believed in enactment of modern laws for Hindus.
Some persons have argued that Hindu marriage cannot be subjected to legislative intervention. 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.
Conditions
The conditions 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; The conditions also stipulate that at the time of the marriage, neither party
Subject: Family Law – I L4 C4
Objective: The objective of the paper is to apprise the students with the laws relating to
family matters applicable to different communities in India.
Unit – I: Marriage Laws (Lectures– 10)
a. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
i. Evolution of the institution of marriage
ii. Concept of marriage
iii. Forms, validity, voidability
b. Nikah (Muslim Marriage)
i. Definition, objects and nature
ii. Essentials and validity
iii. Obligations arising out of marriage – Mahr, Maintenance etc.
c. Laws governing Christian and Parsi marriages
d. Civil Marriages
Unit – II: Dissolution of Marriage (Lectures– 10)
a. Theories of Divorce
b. Separation and Dissolution of Marriage under Hindu Law
i. Judicial separation
ii. Grounds of Divorce
iii. Divorce by mutual consent
iv. Jurisdiction and procedure
c. Dissolution of Marriage under Muslim Law
i. By death
ii. By the act of either party
iii. By mutual consent
iv. By court
v. Indian Divorce Act and Parsi Marriage Act
,Unit – III: Adoption and Maintenance (Lectures – 10)
a. Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
b. Adoption
(i) Ceremonies
(ii) Capability
(iii) Effect
c. Maintenance
i. Entitlement
ii. Enforcement
d. Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986
e. Maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Unit – IV: Guardianship (Lectures – 10)
a. Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956
b. Guardianship – Meaning
c. Kinds of Guardianship
d. Right, obligations and disqualification of guardian
e. Guardianship under Muslim Law
f. Entitlement to guardianship
g. Rights, obligations and disqualification of a guardian
, Subject: Family Law-I
Paper Code-203
Unit-I: Marriage laws
(a) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
(i)Evolution of the Institution of marriage
The Hindu Marriage Act is a law enacted by the Indian Parliament in 1955 as part of the Hindu Code Bills.
Three other important acts were also enacted during this time: 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 meant to modernize the Hindu legal tradition.
Purpose
As part of the Hindu Code Bill, the Hindu Marriage Act was enacted in 1955 by the Indian parliament. It is an
Act to amend and codify the marriage law among Hindus. Its purpose was to regulate personal life among
Hindus, especially the institution of marriage, its validity, conditions for invalidity and applicability.
"When a woman born in a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe marries to a person belonging to a forward caste,
her caste by birth does not change by virtue of the marriage. A person born as a member of a scheduled caste or
a scheduled tribe has to suffer from disadvantages, disabilities and indignities only by virtue of belonging to the
particular caste which he or she acquires involuntarily on birth. The suffering of such a person by virtue of caste
is not wiped out by a marriage with the person belonging to a forward caste. The label attached to a person born
into a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe continues notwithstanding the marriage. No material has been placed
before us by the applicant so as to point out that the caste of a person can be changed either by custom, usage,
religious sanction or provision of law."
, Applicability
The Act was viewed as conservative because it applied to any person who is Hindu by religion in any of its
forms, yet clumps other religions together into the act (Jains, Buddhists, or Sikhs) as specified in Article 44 of
the Indian Constitution. 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 law related to marriage.
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. 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. 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 ‘’sanskaras’’ (life-cycle rituals).
Therefore there was fierce religious opposition to enacting such laws for marriage, succession and adoption.
The greatest opposition was to the provision of equal inheritance by sons and daughters (male and female heirs)
whereas until then only the sons inherited property. These Acts were put forth under the leadership of Prime
Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who strongly believed in enactment of modern laws for Hindus.
Some persons have argued that Hindu marriage cannot be subjected to legislative intervention. 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.
Conditions
The conditions 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; The conditions also stipulate that at the time of the marriage, neither party
