Hindu Marriage Act 1955 for Judiciary 2027 — Conditions, Divorce Grounds, Landmark Cases and 25 MCQs

Last Updated: 11 May 2026

The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 is the highest-yield personal-law statute for Judiciary exams across UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan and Delhi. The ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ (Section 13) and ‘restitution of conjugal rights’ (Section 9) have been featured in every Judiciary preliminary in 2025-26.

Applicability — Section 2

• Hindus by religion (including Virashaivas, Lingayats, Brahmo, Prarthana, Arya Samaj).
• Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs.
• Any person who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew (residual category).
• Not applicable to Scheduled Tribes unless Central Government notifies (Section 2(2)).

Conditions of a Valid Hindu Marriage — Section 5

1. Monogamy (no living spouse).
2. Mental capacity (no unsoundness of mind or insanity).
3. Age: Bridegroom 21+, Bride 18+.
4. Not within degrees of prohibited relationship (Section 3(g)) — unless custom permits.
5. Not sapindas (Section 3(f)) — unless custom permits.

Section 7 — Ceremonies

Marriage solemnised according to customary rites; Saptapadi (seven steps) where included makes marriage complete and binding.

Void and Voidable Marriages

Section	Provision
S.11 — Void	Contravention of S.5(i), (iv), (v) — bigamy, prohibited, sapinda
S.12 — Voidable	Impotency, force/fraud, pre-marriage pregnancy by another, lack of consent

Section 9 — Restitution of Conjugal Rights (RCR)

If either spouse withdraws from society without reasonable excuse, court can order restitution.

• T. Sareetha v. Venkata Subbaiah (1983, AP HC) — held S.9 unconstitutional.
• Saroj Rani v. Sudarshan Kumar (1984, SC) — overruled Sareetha; upheld constitutionality.
• Constitutional challenge pending in 2026 before SC (Ojaswa Pathak v. UoI).

Section 10 — Judicial Separation

Available on any ground for divorce. Marriage not dissolved but conjugal obligations suspended.

Section 13 — Divorce Grounds (10 grounds)

1. Adultery (post-1976 amendment).
2. Cruelty (mental + physical).
3. Desertion (continuous 2 years).
4. Conversion to another religion.
5. Unsoundness of mind (incurable).
6. Leprosy (incurable) — deleted by 2019 Amendment.
7. Venereal disease (communicable).
8. Renunciation of world.
9. Presumption of death (not heard of for 7+ years).
10. No resumption of cohabitation after RCR or Judicial Separation for 1 year.

Section 13(1A) — Both Spouses’ Grounds (1964 amendment)

1. Non-resumption of cohabitation for 1 year after Judicial Separation decree.
2. Non-compliance with RCR decree for 1 year.

Section 13(2) — Wife-only Grounds

1. Bigamy by husband.
2. Rape, sodomy, bestiality by husband.
3. Maintenance decree under S.18 of HAM 1956 or u/s 125 CrPC + no cohabitation for 1 year.
4. Marriage solemnised before bride attained 15 years and she repudiates after 15 but before 18.

Section 13B — Divorce by Mutual Consent (1976 amendment)

• Living separately for 1 year+.
• Unable to live together.
• Mutually agreed to dissolve.
• Cooling-off period of 6-18 months (waivable per Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur, 2017).

Landmark Cases

• Smt. Sureshta Devi v. Om Prakash (1991) — consent must subsist throughout the 6-18 month period.
• Naveen Kohli v. Neelu Kohli (2006) — irretrievable breakdown as a ground (recommended to Parliament).
• K. Srinivas Rao v. D.A. Deepa (2013) — cruelty as a ground includes silent cruelty.
• Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023) — SC’s plenary power under Article 142 to dissolve irretrievably broken marriages.

Internal Links

• Judiciary 2027 Coaching
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FAQ

Is irretrievable breakdown a separate ground for divorce?

Not statutorily yet; courts grant via Article 142 (SC) on case-by-case basis after Shilpa Sailesh 2023.

Can the 6-month cooling-off be waived?

Yes — after Amardeep Singh (2017), courts can waive in suitable cases.

Section 9 (RCR) constitutionality?

Saroj Rani (1984) upheld it; pending re-examination in Ojaswa Pathak petition.

Practice Quiz