hindu law

Question 1

S. Nagalingam vs. Sivagami

Answer 1

S. Nagalingam vs. Sivagami (2001), the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the ceremony of Saptapadi is essential where the parties admit it to be essential. And where Saptapadi is not performed but other ceremonies have been performed according to the custom of either party, a valid marriage has been solemnized.

Question 2

The Lily Thomas v Union of India

Answer 2

The Lily Thomas v Union of India case dealt with the validity of Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes the offence of bigamy. The Supreme Court of India upheld the validity of the provision, stating that it served a legitimate social purpose of protecting the sanctity of marriage and preventing the exploitation of women. The court clarified that the provision applied equally to men and women and that a person who converted to another religion after the first marriage could not avoid prosecution for bigamy. The case underscores the importance of protecting the institution of marriage and upholding the principle of gender equality under Indian law.

Question 3

solemnization of marriage rules

Answer 3

s7- saptapadi the fire thing is necessary for a marriage but in lack of saptapadi if other customs that have been part of either party’s family since ancient times are performed and those rituals are recognised by their community and caste- the marriage is valid

Question 4

who is hindu - child also

Answer 4

anyone not muslim, jew, parsi, christian
thus anyone who is jain, bhuddist, hindu, sikh comes under HMA. furthermore a child if born into a half hindu family will typically take the religion by which they are raised.

Question 5

conditions for marriage

Answer 5

m21, f18
* no prior living spouses
* capability to consent is necessary- if cannot consent due to unsoundness of mind- mental disorders, or unfit for procreation of children= voidable marriage
* neither party can be idiot or lunatic at time of marriage
* cannot be sapinda to each other/ within prohibited degrees of relation

Question 6

voidable marrige

Answer 6

marriage not consummated volunatrily due to respondent.
consent of guardian necessary but obtained by force(child marriage)
respondent preg with anither mans child
BUT if after the force or fraud of marriage is discovered- they have both fully consented to the marriage for 1 year- not voidable
unless- petitioner has not consented to intercourse since discovering the truth
Non-registration of marriage = not voidable

Question 7

divorce

Answer 7

section 13
- cruelty, adultry, desertion for atleast 2 yrs, missing for 7 yrs and people that would generally know of his life have not heard of him, cpnverting to diff religion, suffering from mental/ psychopathic disorder, veneral or communicable disease, insanity, leprosy, rejection of the real world- sanyas.
- Wife may file for divorce if husband has been convicted for sodomy, rape or beastiality,
- mutual agreement for divorce
- no restitution for conjugal rights after 1 year of seperation,

Question 8

Ravi Kumar v. Julmi Devi

Answer 8

(2005) that cruelty has no definition and cannot be defined. It can come in an unlimited variety, much like in marital situations. In other words, the definition of cruelty is highly individualised. It may change depending on the setting, the time, and the economic and social circumstances of the people.

Question 9

Sona v. Karambir

Answer 9

, a board of doctors stated that the wife had intermediate-range mental retardation, that her mental unsoundness was incurable, that she was unable to fulfil her marital responsibilities, and that she offered completely false and nonsensical responses to questions. divorce

Question 10

leprosy

Answer 10

it is not essential for the petitioner to demonstrate that the respondent had been affected by the incurable and virulent type of leprosy for three years (or one year, as the case may be), prior to the petition for matrimonial relief.

Question 11

Sital Das v. Sant Ram

Answer 11

The respondent must have given up on life in general (Sanyasa),
He must have joined a religious organisation.
A person is considered to have joined a religious order when they participate in certain rituals and ceremonies that are required by their religion, according to the ruling in the case of

Question 12

Nirmoo v. Nikkaram

Answer 12

Nirmoo v. Nikkaram (1968), it was decided that if a person marries someone else without obtaining a divorce decree after supposing their husband has passed away, their spouse may later contest the validity of the second marriage.

Question 13

Samar Ghosh v. Jaya Ghosh

Answer 13

Samar Ghosh v. Jaya Ghosh (2007) case, the Bench stated that refusing to take part in the divorce process and compelling the appellant to remain in a dead marriage would both be considered acts of mental cruelty.

Question 14

restitution of conjugal rights

Answer 14

Smt.Saroj Rani vs. Sudarshan Kumar Chadha, 1984 AIR 1562, the constitutional validity of Section 9 of the HMA was questioned before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Hon’ble Supreme Court ruled that conjugal rights, i.e. a husband or wife’s right to be in the company of the other spouse, are not a legal authority in India. Divorce is a legal right that is embedded in the institution of marriage

Question 15

judicial seperation

Answer 15

s10.
Status of the wife does not change and thus, the husband has to bear the expenses of maintenance in judicial separation. The husband and wife in case of legal separation still remain a couple, and thus, can not remarry.
judicial seperation can be granted through the same grounds as divorce

Question 16

constitutional validity of s9 - restitituon of conjugal rights

Answer 16

T sareetha v T venkatta Subbaiah- andhra pradesh HC declared s.9 violative of constitional rights sich as article 19, 14, 21,
and said it takes away bodily autonomy and forces intercourse.
Harvinder Kaur v Harmander Singh- states that it is valid because conjugal rights arent solely based on intercourse and that family law cannot be conjectured w constitional? idk
Saroj Rani v Sudershan Kumar- stated that it is valid because if restitution of conjugal rights judgement is not followed for 1 year it becomes a ground for divorce and any attachment of property is just a sanction to that judgement is merely a financial incentive to resume conjugal rights- if not then 1 yr later divorce anyway

Question 17

cases where judicial seperation will not be given instead direct divorce

Answer 17

judicial seperation grounds can be any of the clauses in s13 - grounds for divorce bUT if 1. the spouse has converted religion, 2. the spouse has renounced the world, and becoes a sanyaas or 3. if the respondent is presumed dead-7 yers then judicial seperation wont be given - direct divorce

Question 18

ground for divorce only wife can avail

Answer 18

s. 13(2)
- bigamy of husband
- rape,sodomy, beastiality
- decree of maintainance against husband and no resume of cohabitiation for 1 yr
- marriage solemnised before wife 15 yrs old so she can repudiate it betwen ages of 15-18

Question 19

Dastane v Dastane

Answer 19

1. Aleeged acts of cruelty must be proven by evidence
2. there should be reasonable apprehension of real injury in the petitioners mind
3. petitioner should not have taken advantage of their position
4. petitioner should not have condoned acts of cruelty

only then will it be sufficient for cruelty as ground of divorce

Question 20

s13(1A)

Answer 20

no resumption of cohabitation after judicial seperation for more than 1 year
no restitution of conjugal rights after decree from court then divorce applicable

Question 21

what does MAINTAINENCE include

Answer 21

according to hindu adoption maintainance act maintenance includes: food, clothing, residence, education, medical treatment and wedding expenses of unmarried daughter

Question 22

maintenance pendente lite

Answer 22

s24 hma - maintainance for court proceedings whichever party - husband or wife- is unaable to pay, the court can order the respondent to pay for the court proceedings proptional to the income

maintenece pendente lite applies to void marriages as well

s25. permanent alimony and maintence - either party may be rewarded maintencNCE a gross sum monthly/ periodically not exceeding life of applicant

maintencance may be cancelled if the party reciveing has intercourse with someone else or marries someone else

Question 23

eligibility maintenance of wife HAMA on what grounds

Answer 23

wife is entitiled to maintenance if - she lives seperately from husband due to =
desertion , cruelty, bigamy, concubine in the same ouse of habitual residence of concubine, conversion and other causes descritionary to court
wife ineligable for mainenance if unchase/ converts

Question 24

malhotra v malhotra

Answer 24

court can grant maintenance pendete litre bec suit can take years to settle

Question 25

maintencance of widowd daughter in law

Answer 25

s19
FIL is respnsible for maintenance unless=
1. widow remarries
2. obtaines a share in coparcenary properties (animithu v gandhimmal)

Question 26

maintencance of children / aged parents

Answer 26

Section 20 - Children and aged parents A Hindu is bound to maintain his/her legitimate/illegitimate children and aged or infirm parents. Children of the person can only claim maintenance as long as they are minor.
The obligation of a person to maintain his or her aged or infirm parent or daughter who is unmarried extends in so far as the parent or the unmarried daughter, as the case may be, is unable to maintain himself or herself out of his or her own earnings or other property.
‘Parent’ also includes a childless stepmother.

Question 27

maintence of dependents after death

Answer 27

whoever inherits the share of estate after death must contribute to maintenance of the dependents in proportion to the percentage of estate inherited

Question 28

who is a dependent

Answer 28

unmarried daughter, minor son, illegitamate children, widowed daughter, widow, upto grandkids of predeceased son and his widow

Question 29

Adoption under HAMA

Answer 29

must be of sound mind, adult, if married - require consent from spouse consnet must be in writing or through an affirmative act done voluntarily
GHisalal v dhapubai

Question 30

who can give the adoption and who may be adopted

Answer 30

parent with consent of both, if parents are incapable- guardian can give for adoption
_________
kid should be hindu, not already adopted, not married, not over 15 yrs old

Question 31

s11 HAMA

Answer 31

for valid adoption - person adopting:
if adopting son, must not have their own son, grand son or greatgrandson

if adopting daughter, must not have own daughter or grandaughter through own son

if adopting child of opposite sex- age gap= 21 yrs
singl male cannot adopt female child
ceremony of datta homam is not necessay to validate the adoption

Question 32

efect of adoption

Answer 32

all old ties w previous family must be broken but kid cannot later marry someone from sapinda or prohibited relation of earlier
if property vested to X befre adoption that property will stay with x later
- adopted child also acquires the caste of adoptive parents (khazan singh v UOI)

Question 33

(khazan singh v UOI)

Answer 33

• adopted child also acquires the caste of adoptive parents

Question 34

Sawan Ram v Kalawati

Answer 34

husband died after that wife adopted son but then she also dies 2 weeks later- adoptive son claimed rights in deceased husbands proprty
ISSUE: since husband never consented to adoption after death obv- can kid claim?
HELD: yes, as after adoption the kid loses his previous family and creates legal ties w new family so yes he can claim

Question 35

act abt guardianship

Answer 35

hindu minority and guardianship act 1956 and the guardians and wards act

Question 36

who is a guardian

Answer 36

guardian= person who takes care of the mino ror their property or both
can be natural guardian, guardian appointed by will (testamentory guardian), guardian appointed or declared by court,

Question 37

natural guardian

Answer 37

legitimate minor child the natguard is father but if kid is younger than 5 then the custody may be mothers

illegitimate minor child- mother> father

Minor married girl: husband> father> mother

Question 38

disqualification from natural guardianship

Answer 38

if converted to diff religion or sanyaasi

Question 39

testamentory guardians and powers

Answer 39

testmentory guardian only after death of both parents, if mother alive then she is guardian until she dies.
If father appoints x as guardian and dies and after his death the mother appoints Y as guardian and dies- the guardian will be Y.

the powers= natural guardians

Question 40

s10, s11, s12 - guardianship

Answer 40

10. minor can be guardian of another minor- but not the guardian of his property
11. defacto guardian who is taking care of person does not have legal rights over property of minor
12. family proerty ke undivided interest kilye no new guardian will be appointed
    13.

Question 41

Kirtikumar Joshi vs Pradip Kumar Joshi (1992)

Answer 41

Custody of two minor children was sought by father as also by maternal uncle. Mother of the children died an unnatural death and the father was facing charge under section 498 -A of the IPC Children were staying with the maternal uncle and they also expressed their desire to stay with him and not with the father. The court granted custody in favour of maternal uncle.

Question 42

Ram Nath v. Ravi Raj Dudeja

Answer 42

(2006)A custody dispute between the father and the maternal grandparents. The mother of the minor had died under suspicious circumstances, and the father was tried under s. 304 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and convicted by the trial court, but acquitted by the appellate court. When the child’s father was taken into custody, the child was only four years old, and ever since then, he was being looked after very well by the maternal grandparents. The child who was by now sixteen also preferred to live with maternal grandparents. The court held that the interest of the child lies with the grandparents and not the father.

Question 43

• Ms. Githa Hariharan & Anr vs Reserve Bank of India

Answer 43

It held that both the father and mother are natural guardians of a minor Hindu child, and the mother cannot be said to be natural guardian only after the death of the father as that would not only be discriminatory but also against the welfare of the child, which is legislative intent of HMGA, 1956. This case is important because it established for the first time that a natural guardian referred to in the HMGA, 1956 can be a father or a mother: whoever is capable of and available for taking care of the child and is deeply interested in the welfare of the child, and that need not necessarily be the father.

Question 44

ABC vs The State

Answer 44

child born out of wedlock - held that an unwed woman belonging to the Christian faith can become a legal guardian of her child without the father’s consent. and forcing her to name the father would violate her right to privacy

Question 45

Shobha Rani v Madhukar Reddy

Answer 45

husband asking wife for money is not typically cruelty but if its in context of dowry then yes it qualifies as cruelty and is a valid ground for divoce under s13 of hma

Question 46

Jayachandra v. Aneel Kaur

Answer 46

The conduct of the wife has amounted as cruelty. (b) But, the husband had condoned the cruelty of the wife by having sexual relationship with her. so divorce in favour of wife

in Anita Jain v. Rajendra Kumar Jain - wife accused hus of adultry with sister in law when allegations were false and they had lived in sperate houses for years so it is clear the marriage had an irretrievable breakdown

Question 47

• Hitesh Bhatnagar v Deepa Bhatnagar

Answer 47

A bench of justices D K Jain and H L Dattu said that the most important requirement for grant of a divorce by mutual consent is free consent of both the parties. “In other words, unless there is a complete agreement between the husband and the wife for the dissolution of the marriage and unless the court is completely satisfied, it cannot grant a decree for divorce by mutual consent,” Justice Dattu said writing the judgement.

Question 48

Neela Rakesh Jain v Rakesh Jeetmal

Answer 48

Neela Rakesh Jain v Rakesh Jeetmal case is that a husband has a legal obligation to maintain his wife under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, regardless of her income. The amount of maintenance should be determined based on the husband’s income, expenses, and standard of living to ensure that the dependent spouse can live in the same standard of living as the husband. The case emphasizes that the wife’s earning capacity is irrelevant when determining the amount of maintenance.

Question 49

Rameshwari Chandra Daga v Rameshwari Daga

Answer 49

In this case the supreme court held that the marriage solemnized between respondent and appellant is considered as null and void because it is against the provision of section 5(i) of the act, the court **did not **give validity to the Chhor Chithhi as a complete decree of divorce.
awarded maintenance

Question 50

Suresh Babu v. Geetha

Answer 50

Suresh Babu v. Geetha, the husband had married the first wife and then married the second wife without obtaining a divorce from the first wife. The second wife filed a petition for maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC, and the court granted her maintenance, taking into account the husband’s income, his obligation to maintain both wives, and the financial needs of the second wife.

Question 51

Brijendra Singh v State of Madhya Pradesh

Answer 51

In this case, Brijendra Singh, a Hindu, had no male heirs and wished to adopt a son to continue his family lineage. He adopted a boy named Vikram, who was not related to him by blood or marriage. However, the adoption was challenged on the ground that Brijendra Singh had a daughter and had not obtained her consent for the adoption. HELD: daughters consent not needed to adopt son

Question 52

Githa Hariharan & Anr vs Reserve Bank of India

Answer 52

case established the principle that the mother is the natural guardian of the child and that the father’s consent is not necessary for the guardianship of the child. The case also highlighted the importance of the welfare of the child and the equal rights of both parents in matters related to custody and guardianship.

Question 53

S.P.S. Balasubramanyam v. Suruttayan

Answer 53

S.P.S. Balasubramanyam v. Suruttayan, the supreme court held that if a man and a woman live under the same roof and cohabit for a number of years, there will exist a presumption under section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act, that, they live as husband and wife and the children born thereinafter will be legitimate

Question 54

Ajay Bharwaj v. Jyotsna

Answer 54

Ajay Bharwaj v. Jyotsna, the court awarded a sum of 40 lakhs as maintenance to the woman in a live-in relationship. The court also referred to the 2003 report of the Malimath Committee, ‘Reforms in the Criminal Justice System’, that recommended that the word ‘wife’ in section 125CrPC should be amended to include a woman, who is living with a man like his wife for a considerable amount of time.

Question 55

Vidhyadhari v. Sukhrana Bai

Answer 55

Vidhyadhari v. Sukhrana Bai, the court held that a couple living together for a reasonably long time can receive property in inheritance from either partner.

Question 56

Tulsa v. Durghatiya,

Answer 56

Tulsa v. Durghatiya, the Supreme Court awarded legal status to the** children born from a live-in relationship.** Having said that the court also mentioned that the couple should have lived under a roof for a reasonable amount of time.

Besides, Section 125 CrPC provides maintenance to children whether they are legitimate or illegitimate, till they are minors or after majority if the child is unable to maintain himself.

Question 57

Koppisetti Subbarao Subramanian vs. State of Andhra

Answer 57

Koppisetti Subbarao Subramanian vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, where the defendant would harass the live-in partner for dowry, the court reject the claim made by him that Section 498A did apply in this instance, The Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement, as it went a step further to protect woman from harassment and dowry in a live-in relationship.