हिन्दू विवाह अधिनियम
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Act 25 of 1955 — codifies the law of marriage among Hindus (and Buddhists, Jainas, Sikhs). Fixes the conditions for a valid marriage, recognises registration, and lays down the grounds and procedure for restitution of conjugal rights, judicial separation, annulment, divorce, divorce by mutual consent, maintenance pendente lite, permanent alimony, custody of children and appeals.
- Sections
- 30
- Chapters
- 6
- Tier
- Tier 1
- Commenced
- 18 May 1955 (date of assent); came into force as soon as enacted.
Preamble
What this Act sets out to do
An act to amend and codify the law relating to marriage among Hindus.
Table of contents
Chapters
Chapter I§1–4
Preliminary
Four foundational sections. §1 names the Act and extends it across India; §2 fixes who it applies to (Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas, Sikhs and all those not covered by Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jewish law); §3 carries the dictionary (custom, district court, sapinda, prohibited relationship); §4 supersedes pre-1955 Hindu law and inconsistent statutes.
4 sections
Chapter II§5–8
Hindu Marriages
How a Hindu marriage is validly made. §5 lays down the five conditions (no living spouse, sound mind, prescribed age — 21 for groom, 18 for bride — outside prohibited relationship and sapinda). §6 (guardianship) was omitted in 1978. §7 saves customary rites including the Saptapadi, and §8 lets States set up a Hindu Marriage Register and even make registration compulsory, while clarifying that omission to register does not invalidate the marriage.
4 sections
Chapter III§9–10
Restitution of Conjugal Rights and Judicial Separation
Two parallel reliefs short of divorce. §9 lets the aggrieved spouse sue for restitution where the other has withdrawn from society 'without reasonable excuse' — burden on the withdrawing spouse. §10 lets either party obtain a decree of judicial separation on any divorce ground; the duty to cohabit is suspended, and the decree can be rescinded later if the court thinks just.
2 sections
Chapter IV§11–18
Nullity of Marriage and Divorce
The heart of the Act. §§11–12 separate void and voidable marriages. §13 is the long catalogue of divorce grounds (adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion, mental disorder, venereal disease, renunciation, presumption of death) plus §13(1A) (no resumption after a separation or restitution decree) and §13(2) (wife-only grounds — pre-1955 second wife, rape/sodomy/bestiality, §125 CrPC maintenance order, repudiation of child marriage). §13A allows the court to grant judicial separation instead of divorce; §13B is divorce by mutual consent (6-to-18-month cooling period). §14 bars divorce within the first year, §15 says when remarriage is lawful, §16 secures legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages, §17 punishes bigamy via IPC §§494–495, and §18 punishes under-age and prohibited-relationship marriages.
10 sections
Chapter V§19–28A
Jurisdiction and Procedure
How petitions under the Act are filed, tried and appealed. §19 lays out the forum (place of marriage, respondent's residence, last cohabitation, or — since 2003 — the wife's residence). §20 covers the petition's contents and verification. §§21–21C apply the CPC, allow inter-court transfers, mandate day-to-day trial within 6 months and dispense with stamping objections. §22 keeps proceedings in camera. §23 is the famous 'collusion/condonation/delay' filter that the court must clear before passing any decree, with a reconciliation duty. §23A gives the respondent a counter-claim. §§24–26 cover interim maintenance, permanent alimony and child custody. §27 deals with joint marital property; §§28 and 28A cover appeals and enforcement.
15 sections
Chapter VI§29–30
Savings and Repeals
Two short closing sections. §29 saves pre-1955 valid Hindu marriages, customs of dissolution, and pending proceedings; it also makes clear that the Act doesn't displace the Special Marriage Act, 1954 for marriages solemnised under that statute. §30 has itself been repealed by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1960.
2 sections
Source
Read the Act yourself
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About this Act
Quick facts
- Year
- 1955
- Sections
- 30
- Chapters
- 6
- Tier
- Tier 1
Amendments
- 1964Act 44 of 1964 — Inserted §13(1A) — divorce after non-resumption of cohabitation following a decree for judicial separation or restitution.
- 1976Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (Act 68 of 1976) — Major overhaul — inserted §§13A, 13B (mutual consent), 21A–21C, 23A, 28A; recast cruelty, desertion and most divorce grounds.
- 1978Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 (Act 2 of 1978) — Raised marriage ages (bridegroom 21, bride 18) and omitted §6 (guardianship in marriage).
- 1999Act 39 of 1999 — Omitted the words 'or epilepsy' from §5(ii).
- 2001Act 49 of 2001 — 60-day time-bound disposal provisos in §§24 and 26.
- 2003Act 50 of 2003 — Inserted §19(iiia) — wife-petitioner can sue where she resides; appeal period extended to 90 days.
- 2007Act 6 of 2007 — Enhanced punishment under §18(a) for under-age marriage to 2 yrs RI + ₹1 lakh fine.
- 2019Act 34 of 2019 (J&K Reorganisation) — Removed J&K exclusion from §1(2); Act now extends to the whole of India.
- 2019Act 6 of 2019 — Omitted §13(1)(iv) — leprosy as a divorce ground.