Shruti Desai

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HINDU MARRIAGE WITHOUT PERFORMING KANYADAAN CEREMONY IS VALID OR VOID MARRIAGE?

December 23, 2021

 Nowadays youngsters want to do something new to be some news. Especially Hindus want to break traditions which they are doing since colonial rule. We read in the newspaper a couple got married by taking oath on Constitution and some news girl refused to perform “Kanya Daan” as she wants to remain being Papa ki Pari. Love has no boundaries may it be daughter and father. Till a family has only one daughter things are smooth, but there are twirls and twists if a family also has a son. Then the daughter-in-law is also her Papa ki Pari. Well, let’s now turn to the captioned question. How adventurous, heroic and courageous to break the traditions which are part of our Vedic scriptures. What does the law say? Hindus have two types of schools. Mitakshara and Dayabhaga Dayabhaga is followed in West Bengal and Mitakshara in the rest of India. The difference is about inheritance. Now let us understand provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act,1955 Section 3 deals with definitions. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) the expressions “custom” and “usage” signify any rule which, having been continuously and uniformly observed for a long time, has obtained the force of law among Hindus in any local area, tribe, community, group or family: Provided that the rule is certain and not unreasonable or opposed to public policy, and Provided further that in the case of a rule applicable only to a family it has not been discontinued by the family. What are the conditions of marriage under Hindu Law? Conditions for a Hindu marriage.—A marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus, if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:— (i) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage; [(ii) at the time of the marriage, neither party— (a) is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or (b) though capable of giving valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; or (c) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity ***;] (iii) the bridegroom has completed the age of [twenty-one years] and the bride, the age of [eighteen years] at the time of the marriage; (iv) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two; (v) the parties are not sapindas of each other unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two; Ceremonies for a Hindu marriage.—(1) A Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto. (2) Where such rites and ceremonies include the Saptapadi (that is, the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire), the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken. TO EXPOUND AND EXPLAIN THE CEREMONIES UNDER VEDIC SCRIPTURES: There is no standard Hindu marriage ceremony. Regional variation is […]

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CAN HUF CO-PARCENER GIFT HIS UNDIVIDED INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY TO ANOTHER CO-PARCENER?

November 14, 2020

Let us first understand the Hindu Law to discuss and answer this question. 30. Testamentary succession. —[***] Any Hindu may dispose of by will or other testamentary disposition any property, which is capable of being so[disposed of by him or by her], in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), or any other law for the time being in force and applicable to Hindus. Explanation.— The interest of a male Hindu in a Mitakshara coparcenary property or the interest of a member of a tarwad, tavazhi, illom, kutumba or kavaru in the property of the tarwad, tavazhi, illom, kutumba or kavaru shall notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to be property capable of being disposed of by him or by her within the meaning of this[section.] Hindus have two schools of thought Dayabhaga and Mitakshara. Dayabhaga is practiced in West Bengal while Mitakshara is followed in rest of India. Coparcener: The evolution of law: The term coparcener under the Mitakshara system of jurisprudence has a distinct meaning. Its essential characteristic is that the coparcener possesses a right to the family property by birth, the existence of a mere right to partition of family property, cannot be regarded as the touch-stone of coparcenership. Only a male born or adopted into the family can under the ordinary Hindu law, be a coparcener. the right of the widow of a coparcener under the Act is derived under the statute and not by any fiction so as to enable her to take under the general law. So far as alienation of coparcenary property are concerned, it appears that such alienation were permissible in eighteenth century. Indeed, in Suraj Bunsi Koer v. Sheo Proshad Singh and Ors., ILR 6 IA 88 the Privy Council observed as follows:- ” it has been settled law in the presidency of Madras that one coparcener may dispose of ancestral undivided estate, even by contract and conveyance, to the extent of his own share; and a fortiori that such share may be seized and sold in execution for his separate debt.” Thus, the Privy Council also noticed that in Madras alienations by gift were recognized. Such alienations were held by their Lordships to be inconsistent with the strict theory of joint and undivided Hindu family. It is, however, a settled law that a coparcener may alienate his undivided interest in the coparcenary property for a valuable consideration even without the consent of other coparceners. As has been observed by the Privy Council in Suraj Bunsi Koer’s case (supra), such recognition of alienations of coparcenary property for valuable considerations has been one of gradual growth rounded upon the equity which the purchaser for value has to be allowed to stand in his vendor’s shoes and to work out his rights by means of a partition. Although at the time of the judgment of the Privy Council in Suraj Bunsi Koer’s case, the Madras Courts recognised alienations by gift, as time passed the courts of law declared alienations by gift of undivided interest […]

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