Salient Feature of Hindu Law
Salient features of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 salient-features-of-the-hindu-marriage-act-1955-558-1.html Author : laksheyender@gmail.com Published: September 7, 2013, 7:32 am
Salient features of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has reformed Hindu law of Marriage. It is a landmark in the history of social legislation. It has not simply codified the Hindu law of marriage but has introduced certain important changes in many respects. The Hindu marriage contemplated by the Act hardly remains sacramental. The Act has brought in some changes of far reaching consequences which have undermined the sacramental nature of marriage and rendered it contractual in nature to a great extent. The Hindu law of marriage, as the British rulers of India found, interpreted and applied, was, in a nutshell, as follows: (1) Marriage was a holy sanskar, it could be solemnised in one of the eight forms recognised by law; (2) The solemnisation would be according to the Shastric or customary rites; (3) One could marry at any age, as there was no lowest age of marriage; (4) Inter-religious and inter-caste marriages were prohibited, but the latter could be sanctioned by custom; (5) Marrying within one’s gotra or pravara was not allowed, except among the Shudras; (6) Husband and wife would live together, the latter would be submit to the wishes of the former, and the former would maintain the latter; (7) Marriage was indissoluble; divorce was not permitted unless recognised by custom; (8) Death did not dissolve a marriage and therefore a widow could not remarry unless permitted by custom so to do. The courts in India recognised, interpreted and applied all these principles in their minute’s details. Changes brought about by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 The new Act has made radical and substantial changes in the institution of marriage. The following changes are important: (1) A Hindu marriage is now not so much concerned with religion. It is more a result
Salient features of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has reformed Hindu law of Marriage. It is a landmark in the history of social legislation. It has not simply codified the Hindu law of marriage but has introduced certain important changes in many respects. The Hindu marriage contemplated by the Act hardly remains sacramental. The Act has brought in some changes of far reaching consequences which have undermined the sacramental nature of marriage and rendered it contractual in nature to a great extent. The Hindu law of marriage, as the British rulers of India found, interpreted and applied, was, in a nutshell, as follows: (1) Marriage was a holy sanskar, it could be solemnised in one of the eight forms recognised by law; (2) The solemnisation would be according to the Shastric or customary rites; (3) One could marry at any age, as there was no lowest age of marriage; (4) Inter-religious and inter-caste marriages were prohibited, but the latter could be sanctioned by custom; (5) Marrying within one’s gotra or pravara was not allowed, except among the Shudras; (6) Husband and wife would live together, the latter would be submit to the wishes of the former, and the former would maintain the latter; (7) Marriage was indissoluble; divorce was not permitted unless recognised by custom; (8) Death did not dissolve a marriage and therefore a widow could not remarry unless permitted by custom so to do. The courts in India recognised, interpreted and applied all these principles in their minute’s details. Changes brought about by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 The new Act has made radical and substantial changes in the institution of marriage. The following changes are important: (1) A Hindu marriage is now not so much concerned with religion. It is more a result