Hindu Marriage Act
Eligibility
Conditions of a Hindu Marriage
A marriage to be valid has to fulfill the following conditions:
- Neither party should have a spouse living at the time of marriage. The spouse does not include a divorced husband/ wife.
- At the time of marriage, the parties
should be capable of giving a valid consent to the marriage. A person who is
of a sound mind shall be considered to be a person capable to give a valid
consent. Neither party, though capable of giving a valid consent should be
suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be
unfit for marriage and procreation of children. Neither party should be
suffering from recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy.
- The bridegroom should have attained the age of 21 years and the bride should have attained the age of 18 years at the time of marriage.
- The parties should not be within the degrees of prohibited relationships, unless the customs or usage, permits such a marriage.
Two persons are said to be within the degrees of prohibited relationships:
- if one is a lineal ascendant of the
other. For example a Daughter can not marry her father and grandfather.
Similarly, a mother can not marry her son or grandson.
- If one was the wife or husband
of a lineal ascendant or descendant of the other. For example, a son can not
marry his stepmother. Similarly, a person can not marry his Daughter-in -Law or
son -in-law.
- f one was the wife of the brother or
of the father's or mother's brother or the grandfather's or grandmother's
brother of the other.
- If the two are brother and
sister; uncle and niece; Aunt and Nephew or children of brother and sister of
two brothers or two sisters. It must have been noticed in some communities the
marriage with the wife of the brother and mother's brother and the first cousins
are solemnized, those marriages, in the absence of a custom in the community are
not valid marriages.
- The parties are not apindas of each
other, unless the customs or usage governing each of them permits of a
marriage between the two. A apindas relationship with reference to any person
extends as far as the third generation (inclusive) in the line of ascent
through the mother, and the fifth (inclusive) in the line of ascent through
the father.
In plain words, a person can not marry
up to his second cousin from the mother's
side and up to his fourth cousin from the side of the father. It is also
necessary the parties should not be apindas of each
other from either side.
In case, either party has a spouse living at the time of marriage, within the
degree of prohibited relationship and are apindas of
each other, the marriage between the parties shall be null and void
