Detailed Study Notes for Unit II

Unit-II: Marriage — Nature, Conditions, Ceremonies, Monogamy & Polygamy

Traditional View: Under ancient Hindu law, marriage was not a mere commercial contract, but a sacred sacrament (samskara), an indissoluble spiritual union of two souls designed for the performance of religious duties (dharmasampatti), procreation, and spiritual growth.
Modern Statutory View: With the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA), while marriage retains its social and sacramental solemnity, it has also acquired a legal framework of rights, obligations, and civil remedies (such as judicial separation and divorce), bridging ancient tradition with modern social welfare.

For a marriage to be solemnized between any two Hindus, Section 5 lays down five mandatory conditions:

Bigamy Prohibition (Section 5(i)): Neither party should have a spouse living at the time of marriage. (Both parties must be unmarried, divorced, or widowed; bigamous marriages are void).
Soundness of Mind and Mental Capacity (Section 5(ii)): Neither party should be incapable of giving valid consent due to unsoundness of mind, mental disorder resulting in unsuitability for marriage, or recurrent bouts of insanity or epilepsy.
Age of Marriage (Section 5(iii)): The bridegroom must have completed 21 years of age and the bride 18 years of age. (Note: Violation of age attracts penal consequences under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, but does not automatically render the marriage void under HMA, though it may be voidable under specific clauses).
Degrees of Prohibited Relationship (Section 5(iv)): Parties must not fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless saved by customary practice governing each party.
Sapinda Relationship (Section 5(v)): Parties must not be “sapindas” of each other (lineally connected up to three generations through the mother and five through the father), unless custom permits.

Requirement: A Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto.
The Saptapadi (Seven Steps): Where such rites and ceremonies include the Saptapadi (taking seven steps by the bridegroom and bride jointly before the sacred fire), the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.
Judicial View: Proof of performance of essential customary ceremonies is mandatory to establish a valid marriage in matrimonial disputes (Santi Deb Berma v. Kanchan Prava Devi).

To facilitate proof of marriages, State Governments are empowered to make rules providing for the registration of Hindu marriages.
While state rules may make registration compulsory, failure to register does not invalidate the validity of the marriage itself.

Section 5(i) read with Section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act enforces strict monogamy across all Hindus.
Polygamy (and polyandry) is strictly abolished and criminalized.

Any marriage solemnized between two Hindus after 1955 is void if either party had a living spouse, and attracts the severe penal provisions of Sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code (Bigamy), punishable with imprisonment up to 7 years.

Secularization & Civil Registration: Growing reliance on special marriage acts and registration independent of religious rites.
Equal Rights and Mutual Autonomy: Shift from patriarchal marital dominance toward egalitarian partnerships, mutual consent in divorce, and recognition of working spouses’ financial independence.
Live-in Relationships: Judicial recognition of long-term cohabiting partnerships under domestic violence and maintenance jurisprudence, testing the boundaries of traditional family structures.

Case Title: Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande v. State of Maharashtra
Citation & Court: AIR 1965 SC 1564 (Supreme Court of India)
Related Statutory Sections: Sections 5(i), 7, and 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 read with Section 494 IPC.
The Story & Real-Life Background: A Hindu husband married a second woman during the lifetime of his first wife without dissolving the first marriage. He was prosecuted for bigamy under Section 494 IPC. During trial, the prosecution proved that garlands were exchanged and a marriage ceremony took place, but failed to prove that the essential customary ceremony of Saptapadi (seven steps) was performed.
Legal Issues Involved: Whether a bigamy conviction can be sustained under Section 17 HMA without strict proof that essential customary ceremonies (such as Saptapadi) were duly performed.
Final Judgement & Ratio Decidendi:
- Ruling: The Supreme Court held that for a marriage to be “solemnized” in the eyes of law under Section 7, essential customary ceremonies (like Saptapadi) must be performed. Since the prosecution failed to prove the performance of Saptapadi, no legally valid second marriage came into existence, and the charge of bigamy failed.
- Ratio: A bigamy conviction requires strict, legally admissible proof that the second marriage was solemnized with full customary rituals and ceremonies.

Case Title: Smt. Yamunabai Anantrao Adhav v. Anantrao Shivram Adhav
Citation & Court: (1988) 1 SCC 530 (Supreme Court of India)
Related Statutory Sections: Sections 5(i), 11, and 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The Story & Real-Life Background: A Hindu woman sought maintenance under Section 125 CrPC from her husband. During proceedings, it was revealed that the husband was already married and his first wife was alive at the time of his second marriage. The husband argued that since the second marriage was void ab initio under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, she was not a “wife” entitled to statutory maintenance.
Legal Issues Involved: Whether a woman whose marriage is void ab initio due to pre-existing living spouse can claim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC as a “wife.”
Final Judgement & Ratio Decidendi:
- Ruling: The Supreme Court held that an express contravention of Section 5(i) renders a marriage void ab initio under Section 11. A woman married in contravention of bigamy rules cannot attain the legal status of a “wife” under statutory family law and is consequently not entitled to claim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC.
- Ratio: Statutory provisions prohibiting bigamy are absolute; void marriages cannot confer the legal rights and remedies attached to valid marital status.

Unit Number	Topic / Concept Name	Relevant Sections Range	Core Description / Subject Matter
Unit-II	Hindu Marriage Act, 1955	Sections 5 to 8, 17	Conditions of valid marriage, monogamy, mandatory Saptapadi ceremonies, and bigamy penalties.