Hindu Marriage Act for CLAT: Valid, Void, Voidable

📑 On this page

⚡ The short answer

A Hindu marriage is valid when two Hindus meet five conditions (no living spouse, sound mind, minimum age, outside prohibited degrees, not sapindas) and complete the customary ceremony of either side, such as saptapadi. A living spouse, prohibited degrees or sapinda link make it void; mental disorder, impotence, force, fraud or concealed pregnancy make it voidable. Registration only proves a marriage.

🎬 The 30-second story

The certificate-only wedding

“Let's get the certificate now and do the pheras next year.”

💸

Aarav

Aarav has a budget plan.

“Registrar stamped it. Married on paper!”

📄

Zoya

Two signatures, zero rituals.

“Let's split. We never took the seven steps.”

💔

Aarav

Eighteen months later, still no ceremony.

“But we have a government certificate!”

❓

Zoya

She waves it at a lawyer.

Tara's ruling: A Hindu marriage exists only once it is solemnised with the customary rites of either party. Registration records a marriage; it can't create one. No ceremony, no Hindu marriage. Paper-only weddings belong to a separate civil law, the Special Marriage Act.

What makes a Hindu marriage valid?

Think of two locks. Capacity: both people must be free and fit to marry each other. Ceremony: the marriage must be performed in a form their custom recognises. Open only one and you aren't married.

🧮 The formula

The Hindu marriage formula

🪔

Two Hindus

incl. Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists

✅

Five conditions

capacity to marry

🔥

Customary rites

of either party

💍

Valid marriage

📌 What CLAT actually expects

Sort the facts into valid, void, voidable or no marriage at all using the passage's rule, then apply its consequence. Parties from a Scheduled Tribe fall outside the Hindu marriage law unless the government extends it.

What are the five conditions for a Hindu marriage?

🧩 At a glance

Five conditions, and what breaking each one does

1️⃣No living spouse

No undissolved marriage with a living spouse. Break it: void.

🧠Sound mind

Able to consent and fit for marriage. Break it: voidable.

🎂Minimum age

Groom 21, bride 18. Break it: valid but punishable.

🚫Outside prohibited degrees

Not closely related by blood or marriage, unless custom allows. Break it: void.

🌳Not sapindas

No common ancestor within set generations, unless custom allows. Break it: void.

Red makes a marriage void, amber voidable, gold valid but punishable.

🧭 Decision flow

Is this Hindu marriage valid?

❓ Were the customary rites of either party fully performed?

All seven steps, if saptapadi is their custom.

No →

No marriage in law.

A certificate can't cure it.

Yes ↓

❓ Did either party have a living spouse from an undissolved marriage?

Yes →

Void, and bigamy.

No ↓

❓ Prohibited degrees or sapindas, with no custom of both allowing it?

Yes →

Void from day one.

No ↓

❓ Impotence, mental disorder, force, fraud, or bride pregnant by another man?

Yes →

Voidable.

Valid until the wronged spouse gets a decree.

No ↓

❓ Groom under 21 or bride under 18?

Yes →

Valid, but an offence.

The child party may annul it in time.

No →

Valid marriage.

Which ceremonies make a Hindu marriage complete?

The law imposes no single ritual. It accepts the customary rites of either party. Where those include saptapadi, the seven steps together before the sacred fire, the marriage becomes binding on the seventh step. Six steps and a walkout means no marriage.

A custom replacing the usual rites must be ancient, certain and proved; a vague “we don't need a priest” won't do. Tamil Nadu goes further by law, accepting marriages completed with garlands, rings or a thali before relatives and friends.

⚔️ Side by side

Solemnisation vs registration

🔥Solemnisation

Creates the marriage

•Customary rites of either party
•Without it, no Hindu marriage

📄Registration

Proves the marriage

•Records a marriage already performed
•Skipping it doesn't affect validity

Test	Solemnisation	Registration
If missing	No marriage	Valid, just harder to prove
CLAT trap	“They lived as husband and wife”	“They hold a certificate”

Living together, a public declaration or family blessings are not a ceremony either.

Void or voidable: what is the difference?

🎚️ The scale

From rock-solid to never existed

← Fully validNever existed →

Valid

Five conditions plus the ceremony.

Valid but punishable

Under-age marriage.

e.g. Bride 17.

Voidable

Valid until a court annuls it.

e.g. Consent by fraud.

Void

A nullity from the start.

e.g. One party already married.

No marriage

No ceremony, nothing to annul.

e.g. Certificate without rites.

⚔️ Side by side

Void vs voidable marriage

🚫Void

Dead on arrival

•Living spouse
•Prohibited degrees
•Sapindas

⚠️Voidable

Alive until a court ends it

•Impotence
•Mental disorder
•Force or fraud
•Pregnant by another

Test	Void	Voidable
Before any decree	Never valid	Fully valid
Who can sue	Either spouse, for a declaration	Only the wronged spouse, often within a time limit
If nobody sues	Still void	Valid for ever
A spouse dies first	Survivor is no widow(er)	Survivor is widow(er) and heir

Children of both are legitimate. A void-marriage spouse is no heir but may still get alimony (2025).

When is a Hindu marriage voidable?

Ground	Meaning	The catch
Impotence	Never consummated because the respondent is incapable.	Incapacity, not mere refusal.
Mental disorder	At the wedding the respondent couldn't consent or was unfit for marriage.	Judged at the time of marriage.
Force or fraud	Consent forced, or tricked about the ceremony or a material fact about the respondent.	Sue within one year of discovery; don't live together willingly after.
Pregnant by another	Bride pregnant by someone else at marriage.	Husband unaware; sue within a year; no intercourse after finding out.

→ scroll to see more

The catches decide most questions. Voidable gives the wronged spouse a choice, and staying on after learning the truth is a choice. A “material fact” must go to the heart of the decision to marry, like a hidden serious illness, not ordinary exaggeration.

Is child marriage void, and who can't marry whom?

Under the Hindu marriage law, marrying under age is neither void nor voidable. It is punishable, but the marriage stands, because voiding it would leave young wives with no status. A separate child-marriage law then gives the spouse who was a child an option to annul, within two years of reaching majority.

⚠️ Whose option is it?

Only the spouse who was the child, and only in time. An adult groom can't escape by citing his bride's age. Separately, a wife married before fifteen who repudiates the marriage before eighteen can seek divorce.

Prohibited degrees are close relations: a lineal ancestor, siblings, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, children of two siblings, and certain relatives' former spouses. Sapindas share an ancestor within three generations on the mother's side or five on the father's, counting yourself as the first.

🌳 The family tree

Can Aarav marry Zoya?

👴

Dadaji

common ancestor
- son
  
  Kabir
  
  son
  - son
    
    Aarav
    
    grandson
- daughter
  
  👩
  
  Bua
  
  daughter
  - daughter
    
    Zoya
    
    granddaughter

common ancestorbarred unless custom allows

Children of a brother and sister are within prohibited degrees and are sapindas: void unless a proved custom governing each allows it. The Delhi High Court refused to strike down the sapinda bar in 2024.

Which cases shaped the law?

🔥

Landmark case · 1965 · Supreme Court

Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande v State of Maharashtra

📋

What happened

A married man went through a gandharva-style marriage. The fire invocation and saptapadi were skipped and no custom excusing them was proved.

❓

The question

Was he guilty of bigamy?

🔨

What the court held

No. “Whoever marries” means whoever marries validly; rituals done with an intention to marry aren't solemnisation.

What CLAT takes from it: First ask whether the marriage happened at all.

📋

Landmark case · 2006 · Supreme Court

Seema v Ashwani Kumar

📋

What happened

The Court noticed spouses denying marriages because most states kept no record.

❓

The question

Should registration be compulsory?

🔨

What the court held

Marriages of all citizens must be compulsorily registrable. Registration doesn't decide validity, but is strong evidence.

What CLAT takes from it: Registration helps you prove a marriage, not make one.

📄

Landmark case · 2024 · Supreme Court

Doly Rani v Manish Kumar Chanchal

📋

What happened

A couple got a society's certificate and a state registration, planning the ceremony later. It never happened.

❓

The question

Were they married?

🔨

What the court held

No. Without solemnisation there is no Hindu marriage; the certificates were declared void.

What CLAT takes from it: Certificate minus ceremony equals no marriage.

How has CLAT asked it?

📝 Asked in CLAT 2021 · Q97 Meaning of solemnise

In Hindu law, marriage is treated as a Samskara or a sacrament. … The Supreme Court in Bhaurao Shankar Lokhande v. State of Maharashtra held, “Prima facie, the expression ‘whoever marries’ … must mean ‘whoever marries validly’ … If marriage is not valid according to the law applicable to the parties, no question arises of its being void by reason of its taking place during the life of the husband or wife of the person marrying.” One of the conditions of a valid marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is that it must be ‘solemnised’. …

Which of the following statements correctly expresses the interpretation of the word ‘solemnise’ under Hindu law?

ASolemnisation means celebrating the marriage with proper customary rites and ceremonies of either party to a marriage.

BSolemnisation includes and means promising each other a lifetime of happiness.

CSolemnisation is not necessary in modern marriages when registration of marriage is complete.

DSolemnisation is a mere formal practice and not a mandate.

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: A

The passage makes solemnisation a condition of validity under the law applicable to the parties: celebration with proper ceremonies, and either party's customary rites suffice.

Why the others fail

B — A promise isn't a rite.
C — Registration can't replace the ceremony.
D — A condition of validity is a mandate.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2022 · Q83 No ceremony, no bigamy

Where a spouse contracts a second marriage while the first marriage is still subsisting, the spouse would be guilty of the offence of bigamy under the penal law in India, if it is proved that the first as well as the second marriage were legally valid, i.e., all the necessary ceremonies required by law or by custom have been performed at the time of contracting the marriages. … If a Hindu wife files a criminal complaint against her husband on the ground that during the subsistence of her marriage, her husband had married a second wife by converting into another religion which legally permits having more than one wife, then her husband is liable to be punished for the offence of bigamy. …

(Facts trimmed) Mr. A and Ms. B, both Hindus, married not as per Hindu rites and ceremonies or any other custom, but by seeking blessings of their family members. Mr. A then converted to religion ‘X’, which permits males two wives, and validly married Ms. C under it. Ms. B filed a criminal complaint for bigamy. Which statement is true?

AMr. A has committed the offence of bigamy because he married again during the subsistence of his first marriage.

BMr. A has not committed the offence of bigamy because his first marriage is not valid.

CMr. A has committed the offence of bigamy because he underwent religious conversion in order to contract a bigamous marriage.

DMr. A has not committed the offence of bigamy because his second marriage is not valid.

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: B

Bigamy needs both marriages valid. Family blessings are no rite or custom, so there was no first marriage.

Why the others fail

A — No valid first marriage subsisted.
C — Conversion matters only after a valid first marriage.
D — The second marriage met every requirement of religion X.

📝 Asked in CLAT 2024 · Q84 Prohibited degrees

The Supreme Court … held that a child born of a void or voidable marriage can inherit the parent’s share in a joint Hindu family property. … the first step … would be to ascertain the exact share of his parent in the ancestral property … by means of conducting a “notional partition” …

Srimati’s first marriage was void due to being within the prohibited degree of relationship. Dhanalakshmi, her daughter from that marriage, demands her share in her mother’s ancestral property. Srimati, who later married Dhrupad and has 2 daughters with him, refuses. Dhanalakshmi goes to court. How would her share be determined?

ADhanalakshmi would not have any right in her mother’s share of the property since the right of inheritance pertains only to father’s share of property.

BDhanalakshmi could demand a notional partition and get a share from Srimati’s portion of her ancestral property.

CBeing a child from a void marriage, Dhanalakshmi has no rights of inheritance.

DIt is Srimati’s decision as to whom she gives rights in her property.

Reveal answer + reasoning

Answer: B

Prohibited degrees make the marriage void; its child is still legitimate, with rights in her parent's share, measured by notional partition. Our caveat: that partition is notionally done as of the parent's death, so strictly she can't force one while Srimati lives. B is still the only option placing her claim correctly.

Why the others fail

A — Nothing limits the rule to fathers.
C — Such children are legitimate heirs.
D — The right comes from law, not goodwill.

💥 Myth vs fact

Myth or fact?

🙅 Myth

A marriage certificate means you're married.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

For Hindus the ceremony creates the marriage.

🙅 Myth

Saptapadi is compulsory for every Hindu marriage.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Only where either party's custom includes it.

🙅 Myth

A child marriage is void.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

Valid but punishable; the child party may annul it in time.

🙅 Myth

Voidable is just void awaiting paperwork.

Tap to bust it →

✅ Fact

It's valid until annulled. Remarry before the decree and it's bigamy.

🎯 Quick quiz

Five fact patterns

0 / 5

Rule: sapindas can't marry unless the custom governing each permits it. Aarav marries his cousin Zoya. Aarav's community has a proved custom allowing it; Zoya's doesn't.

Q1. Status of the marriage?

Rule: fraud makes a marriage voidable, unless the petitioner willingly lived with the spouse after discovering it. Zoya learns Aarav hid a serious illness, stays two more years, then petitions.

Q2. Will she succeed?

Rule: a voidable marriage is valid until annulled. Kabir petitions to annul for his wife's mental disorder but dies before the decree.

Q3. Is she his widow?

Rule: registration facilitates proof; failure to register doesn't affect validity. Rohan and Zoya marry with full rites but never register. Rohan later denies the marriage.

Q4. Is the marriage valid?

Rule: a child marriage is voidable at the option of the party who was a child. Aarav, 25, married Zoya at 17. He now petitions to annul, citing her age.

Q5. Can he?

🎯 In a nutshell

Valid Hindu marriage = five conditions + customary rites of either party.
Living spouse, prohibited degrees, sapindas: void. Impotence, mental disorder, force or fraud, concealed pregnancy: voidable.
Under-age marriage: valid but punishable; the child party may annul it in time.
No ceremony, no marriage, and no bigamy. Registration proves, never creates.

📎 Good to know, not to memorise

Hindu Marriage Act 1955: s.2 (application), s.3(f)–(g), s.5, s.7, s.7-A (Tamil Nadu), s.8, s.11, s.12, s.13(2)(iv), s.16, s.17, s.18, s.25. Bigamy: IPC s.494, now BNS s.82. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, s.3.
Lokhande, AIR 1965 SC 1564; Nagalingam (2001) 7 SCC 487; Seema (2006) 2 SCC 578; Doly Rani, 2024 INSC 355; Sukhdev Singh v Sukhbir Kaur, 2025 INSC 197; Neetu Grover v UoI (Del HC 2024).

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Frequently asked questions

Is registration compulsory for a Hindu marriage to be valid?

No. A Hindu marriage is valid once solemnised with the customary rites of either party; registration only records it. The Supreme Court has directed that all marriages be compulsorily registrable so they can be proved, and in 2024 it held that a certificate issued without any ceremony is worthless.

Is saptapadi necessary in every Hindu marriage?

Only where either party's customary rites include it; then the marriage completes on the seventh step. Other proved customs, or state laws like Tamil Nadu's, which accepts garlands, rings or a thali, can validate a marriage without it. In 2001 the Supreme Court convicted a man of bigamy over exactly such a marriage.

Can first cousins marry under Hindu law?

Usually not. Children of two siblings are within the prohibited degrees and are sapindas, so the marriage is void. The exception is a custom governing both parties that permits it, such as cross-cousin marriage in some communities, and whoever relies on it must prove it is ancient and certain.

Does a spouse in a void marriage get maintenance or inheritance?

No inheritance, since a void marriage makes nobody a legal widow or widower. But in 2025 a three-judge Supreme Court bench held that a court declaring a marriage void may still award that spouse permanent alimony, and interim maintenance during the case, depending on the facts and conduct.