The legal side of marriage
 Getting married is about commitment. It is a sacred institution that has many legal implications. We often don't pay heed to educating ourselves about the marital laws. To avoid legal hassles, it is good to know some of the most important legal procedures. What is Marriage Registration and Marriage Certification? In India, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 govern the formalization of this institution. The Hindu marriage act, 1955 enables the State Government to make its own rules for the purposes of registration of marriages. These rules for the registration as well for the certification of the same vary from state to state. However, as per the statute, it is not compulsory to register such event and the validity of a Hindu marriage shall not be affected by the registration in any case. Registration serves the purpose of facilitating the proof of Hindu marriage. But, the Supreme Court of India has also recently ordered that all marriages should be compulsorily registered. The aim is to tackle the problems of bigamy, child marriage, desertion by spouses and disputed child support claims. The Special marriage Act, 1954 provides for solemnization of a marriage as well as registration by a Marriage Officer. Registration under this act is resorted to when inter-faith marriages take place. What is streedham and what are the issues related to this? Streedham is the possession of exclusively women, according to the old schools of Hindu Law. The following are considered streedham in the hands of a woman: · Gifts made to a woman before nuptial fire · Gifts made to a woman at the bridal procession · Gifts made in token of love by parents-in-law · Gifts made by her father/mother or brother. In addition, a particular kind of property acquired by a woman is streedham or not, depends on the source from which the property is acquired and her status at the time of acquisition, whether she acquired it during her maidenhood, subsistence of marriage or widowhood. The woman has an absolute and exclusive dominion over all her streedham including the movable and immovable property and has the power to sell, alienate or give it away as she pleases, both during her lifetime and thereafter. Her husband or his family members have no rights over a woman's streedham. Is dowry a punishable act? It is, what legal steps can be taken to fight against it? According to the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, "dowry" means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly a. by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or b. by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person. The practice of dowry in India has been theoretically linked to a number of factors including the nature of residence and inheritance system, kinship organizations, relative availability of potential spouses and social stratification in the society. The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 is a threat to this practice. If a person, gives or takes or abets the giving or taking of dowry, he shall be punished even with imprisonment. There is even penalty for demanding dowry. If any person demands, directly or indirectly from the parents or guardians of the bride or bridegroom, as the case may be, any dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment. But the act is not applicable to the presents which are given at the time of a marriage to the bridegroom without any demand having been made in that behalf. |
