Overview: Deals with personal law for Hindus (including Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs by statute definition). It covers marriage, succession, maintenance, adoption etc. Get ready to understand about Family Law I (Hindu Law)

Objectives: To learn Hindu personal law as codified: the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, 1956, Hindu Minority & Guardianship Act, 1956, and Hindu Minority & Guardianship. Also an overview of customs and law in India (Anglo-Hindu law).

Outcomes: Students should be able to explain what constitutes a valid Hindu marriage, grounds and procedures for divorce, rights of maintenance, rules of inheritance in joint/family property, conditions for adoption, and guardianship of minors. For example, they should recognize that an annulment (nullity) is possible under certain conditions (impotency, prior marriage), and that by Hinduis Succession Act, sons and daughters have equal share (after 2005 amendment).

Syllabus (Topics) – CCSU:

1. Sources: Ancient (Manusmriti) vs. modern legislation. Evolution of codified laws.
2. Marriage: Essentials of Hindu marriage (monogamy, rites, age, etc. under HMA 1955). Ceremonies (saptapadi). Judicial separation vs. divorce (listed grounds: cruelty, desertion, conversion, impotence, unsoundness of mind, leprosy, venereal disease, renunciation, failure to solemnize within a year of ceremony, etc.).
3. Restoration of Conjugal Rights, Judicial Separation: Legal effect, enforcement (e.g. Koushalya Rani v. Birendra Kumar [1971]).
4. Nullity of Marriage: Void and voidable marriages (e.g., prohibited degrees, bigamy, impotency).
5. Legitimacy of Children: Presumption of legitimacy of a child born during wedlock.
6. Adoption: Rules (only valid between Hindus); capacity of adoptive parents/children; legal effects of adoption.
7. Guardianship: Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956: natural guardians (father/mother) and guardians appointed by will or court (welfare principle).
8. Maintenance: Rights of maintenance under HAM & MA 1956 (spouse, children, aged parents).
9. Succession: Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (as amended 2005): devolution of property among Class I heirs (equal coparcenary rights after amendment), intestate succession rules, rights of widows, daughters.

Recommended Texts:

• R.C. Chaturvedi, Hindu Law (Central Law Agency).
• T.N. Jha, Family Law.
• Paras Diwan, Modern Hindu Law.
• G.P. Singh, Principles of Hindu Law.
• Pratap, Hindu Family Law.