Family Law / Indian Legislation

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Marriage, Registration, Divorce and Maintenance

Act No. 25 of 1955 | Enacted: 18 May 1955 | Reviewed: 11 October 2026

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 codifies important rules governing Hindu marriages in India, including eligibility, ceremonies, registration, matrimonial remedies, divorce, financial support and related court proceedings.

Official legislation: Consult the Hindu Marriage Act on India Code and the official Act PDF. State rules and later amendments may affect individual cases.

Who is covered by the Hindu Marriage Act?

Section 1 gives the Act its title and territorial application. Section 2 generally covers Hindus, including specified Hindu traditions, as well as Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs; it also addresses certain other persons under its statutory criteria. Members of Scheduled Tribes are ordinarily excluded unless the Central Government directs otherwise by notification. The Act's present territorial application must be read with subsequent constitutional and legislative changes.

Section 3 defines terms such as custom, usage, district court, degrees of prohibited relationship and sapinda relationship. A legally recognized custom must meet statutory requirements, including long, continuous and uniform observance. Section 4 gives the Act overriding effect in matters covered by it, subject to express statutory exceptions.

Conditions, ceremonies and registration of Hindu marriage

Section 5: Conditions for a valid Hindu marriage

Section 5 requires that neither party have a living spouse; the parties satisfy the statutory conditions relating to mental capacity and mental disorder; the bridegroom has completed 21 years and the bride 18 years; and the parties are not within prohibited degrees of relationship or sapindas of each other unless a legally valid custom permits the marriage. Consequences of a breach differ by condition; not every breach automatically makes a marriage void.

Section 7: Ceremonies

A Hindu marriage may be solemnized according to customary rites and ceremonies of either party. Where those rites include saptapadi (seven steps before the sacred fire), the marriage becomes complete and binding on the seventh step. Saptapadi is not universally required where the applicable custom provides other valid ceremonies.

Section 8: Registration

Section 8 provides for state rules facilitating proof and registration of Hindu marriages. Registration requirements, procedures, fees and documents depend on applicable state or union territory rules. Non-registration alone does not invalidate an otherwise valid Hindu marriage under Section 8(5). Marriage registration should not be confused with the solemnization requirements under Section 7.

Restitution of conjugal rights and judicial separation

Section 9: Where one spouse withdraws from the society of the other without reasonable excuse, the aggrieved spouse may petition the district court for restitution of conjugal rights. The court must be satisfied of the statutory requirements; the burden regarding reasonable excuse is addressed in the provision. A decree does not authorize physical coercion or forced intimacy.

Section 10: Judicial separation is a court decree relieving spouses of the obligation to cohabit while the marriage legally continues. It is distinct from divorce. The court may rescind the decree where it considers it just and reasonable.

Void marriage, annulment and divorce

Sections 11 and 12: Void and voidable marriages

Section 11 concerns marriages void for contravention of specified conditions in Section 5, including an existing spouse and certain prohibited or sapinda relationships. Section 12 permits annulment of a voidable marriage on specified grounds, including non-consummation owing to the respondent's impotence, relevant mental-capacity conditions, consent obtained by force or fraud within the statutory limits, and pregnancy by another person at the time of marriage, subject to statutory requirements.

Section 13: Divorce on statutory grounds

Either spouse may seek divorce on legally established grounds including adultery, cruelty, desertion for at least two continuous years immediately before presentation of the petition, conversion to another religion, qualifying mental disorder, communicable venereal disease, renunciation of the world by entering a religious order, or not being heard of as alive for seven years by those who would naturally have heard. Additional grounds and conditions apply in specified circumstances. Leprosy is no longer a ground for divorce under the Act.

Section 13 also addresses divorce following failure to resume cohabitation after judicial separation or failure to restore conjugal rights for the prescribed period. Section 13(2) provides additional grounds specifically available to a wife, subject to its terms.

Section 13A: Alternative relief

In eligible divorce proceedings, a court may grant judicial separation instead of divorce when just in the circumstances, subject to statutory exclusions.

Section 13B: Divorce by mutual consent

Both spouses may jointly petition where they have lived separately for one year or more, cannot live together and mutually agree that the marriage should be dissolved. The statutory second-motion framework refers to a period of six to eighteen months after filing; courts may waive the six-month waiting period in appropriate cases under Supreme Court precedent. Consent must remain legally effective when the decree is granted, subject to governing case law.

Sections 14 and 15: Filing and remarriage

Section 14 generally bars a divorce petition within the first year of marriage, with court permission possible for exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity. Under Section 15, remarriage after divorce is permitted when the applicable appeal conditions are satisfied; parties should verify whether an appeal has been filed or remains possible.

Sections 16 to 18: Children, bigamy and penalties

Section 16 addresses legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages and related property-right limitations, as interpreted by courts. Section 17 concerns bigamous marriages and applicable criminal punishment. For conduct governed by criminal law after the 2024 transition, consult Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, alongside the relevant savings and transitional provisions. Section 18 prescribes penalties for contravention of specified marriage conditions.

Court procedure, maintenance and child custody

Section 19 specifies the district court in which matrimonial petitions may be presented, including particular jurisdictional options for a wife petitioner. Sections 20 and 21 address petition contents, verification and the application of civil procedure, subject to the Act and relevant rules. Sections 21A to 21C deal with transfer of certain petitions, expeditious disposal and documentary evidence. Section 22 protects the privacy of matrimonial proceedings through in-camera hearings and publication restrictions.

Sections 23 and 23A govern the conditions for granting relief and certain relief available to respondents. Section 24 allows either spouse without sufficient independent income to seek maintenance during proceedings and litigation expenses. Section 25 permits permanent alimony and maintenance, including later variation in prescribed circumstances. Section 26 concerns interim and final orders for custody, maintenance and education of minor children, with their welfare central to judicial consideration.

Section 27 concerns property presented at or about the time of marriage that may belong jointly to both spouses; it is not a general division-of-all-assets provision. Sections 28 and 28A address appeals and enforcement of decrees and orders. Section 29 preserves certain rights and matters expressly specified in the savings provision.

The Hindu Marriage Act remains the principal statute discussed here. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and other new criminal laws do not replace its civil marriage and divorce provisions. Criminal-law applicability depends on the date and facts of the alleged offence.

Complete Hindu Marriage Act section-wise index

Browse the original LawDadi section pages for individual provisions and detailed explanations.

Preliminary

Hindu marriages

Restitution and judicial separation

Nullity and divorce

Jurisdiction and procedure

Savings

Section 29 Savings

Official statutory sources and further reading

Read the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 on India Code, the official consolidated Act PDF, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Law Commission's marriage, divorce and maintenance reports. For judicial interpretation, see Hindu Marriage Act judgments and citations.

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information, not advice for an individual dispute. Check current statutory text, applicable state rules and binding judgments before acting.