Updated: Friday April 28, 2017/AlJumaa
Sha’ban 02, 1438/Sukravara
Vaisakha 08, 1939, at 04:53:16 PM
The Hindu Marriage Act, 2017
ACT NO VII OF 2017
[21st March, 2017]
An Act to provide for solemnization of marriages by
Hindu families and for matters ancillary and incidental thereto.
WHEREAS it is constitutional obligation that the state
shall protect the marriage, the family, the mother and the child and also
safeguard the legitimate, rights and interests of minorities;
AND WHEREAS it is expedient to have a consolidated law
providing for solemnization of marriages by Hindu families and the matters
connected therewith and incidental thereto;
AND WHEREAS the Provincial Assemblies of Balochistan,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have passed Resolutions under Article 144 of
the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the effect that
Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) may, by law, regulate solemnization of marriages
by Hindu families and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto;
It is hereby enacted as follows:---
1. Short title, extent, application and
commencement.—(1) This
Act may be called the Hindu Marriage Act, 2017.
(2) It extends to the
(3) Subject to sub-section (2), it shall apply to
those citizen of
(4) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.—In this. Act, unless the
subject or context otherwise requires,---
(a) ”Court” means a Family Court as defined under
the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964 (W.P. Act, XXV of 1964);
(b) ”customs” and “customary rites” mean any
tradition which is not unlawful and the same has been continuously and
uniformly observed for a long time among Hindus in any local area, tribe,
community, group or family;
(c) ”degrees of prohibited relationship” means
any prohibited relationship as per laws, religion and customs having force of
law relating to Hindu persons;
(d) ”Government” means the Federal Government or
the Provincial Government as the case may be;
(e) ”Hindu marriage” means the union of Hindu
male and Hindu female solemnized under this Act and includes the marriage
solemnized before commencement of this Act in accordance with the law,
religion and customs having force of law relating to Hindu persons;
(f) ”marriage register” means register of
marriages maintained by marriage registrar as may be prescribed;
(g) ”marriage registrar” means a person
authorized and appointed by the Government to register Hindu marriages under
this Act;
(h) ”prescribed” means prescribed by rules made
under this Act; and
(i) ”shaadiparat” means certificate of marriage
issued by the marriage registrar, which certifies the solemnization of Hindu
marriage.
3. Overriding effect of Act.—The provisions of
this Act shall have effect not withstanding any other law or custom or usage
for the time being in force.
4. Conditions for a Hindu marriage.—A Hindu
marriage shall be solemnized, if the following conditions are fulfilled,
namely:---
(a) at the time of marriage, the parties are of
sound mind and capable of giving a valid consent;
(b) both the parties are not below the age of
eighteen years;
(c) the parties to the marriage are not within
the degrees of prohibited relationship; and
(d) neither party has a spouse living at the time
of marriage:---
Provided that condition in clause (d) shall not apply
where a living female spouse cannot conceive a child and medically declared to
be so.
5. Ceremonies for Hindu marriage.—A Hindu
marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites, rituals and
ceremonies of either party thereto.
6. Registration of Hindu marriages.—(1) The
solemnization of every Hindu marriage shall be registered in accordance with
the provisions of this Act. Such registration shall take place within a period
of fifteen days of solemnization of - Hindu marriage.
(2) The marriage register shall be open for inspection
and shall be admissible as evidence of the contents contained therein or
certified extracts there from shall, on application, be given by ‘the marriage
registrar on payment of such fee, as may be prescribed.
7. Appointment and functions of marriage
registrar.—(1) The Government shall, by notification in official Gazette,
appoint one or such numbers of marriage .registrars in the territory of a
district or such other areas as would be convenient for Hindu population living
in the said district or such other areas.
(2) For the purposes of registration of Hindu
marriage, the marriage registrar or person duly authorized by him from amongst
the local Hindu community in the manners as may be prescribed, shall be
responsible to register the marriage. The parties to Hindu marriage shall give
their particular to the respective registrar or his authorized person for the
purpose of entry thereof in shaadiparat.
(3) The form of shaadiparat, the record to be
preserved and maintained by the marriage registrar shall be such as may be
prescribed. Until the rules are made, the shaadiparat annexed as Schedule A of
this Act shall be used as shaadiparat.
(4) The marriage registrar shall prepare such number
of copies as may be prescribed and unless the rules are made, he shall prepare
three copies thereof. One copy each shall be given to the respective parties to
marriage and one copy shall be kept in the office of marriage registrar as a
public record.
8. Restitution of conjugal rights.—When either a
husband or a wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of
the other, the aggrieved party may, by a petition to the Court, apply for
restitution of conjugal rights and the Court, on being satisfied of truth of
statements made in such petition and that there is no legal ground why the
application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal rights:---
Explanation—Where a question arises whether there has been
reasonable excuse for withdrawal from the society, the burden of proving
reasonable excuse shall be on the person who has withdrawn from the society.
9. Judicial separation.—(1) Either party to Hindu
marriage, whether solemnized before or after commencement of this Act, may
present a petition to the Court praying for a decree of judicial separation on
any of the ground specified in sub-section (1) of section 12 and in the case of
a wife also on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (2) thereof.
(2) Where a decree of judicial separation has been
passed, the Court may, on the application of both the parties and on being
satisfied of truth of statements made in such petition, rescind the decree if
it considers it just and reasonable to do so.
10. Void marriage.—Any Hindu marriage solemnized
after commencement of this Act may, on a petition to the Court presented by
either party to the marriage or their real parents, be declared null and void
on the conditions specified in clauses (c) and (d) of section 4.
11. Voidable marriage.—(1) Any Hindu marriage
solemnized, whether before or after commencement of this Act, may be declared
voidable and may be subsequently annulled by a decree of nullity passed by the
Court if,---
(a) the marriage has not been consummated owing
to impotence of the respondent; or
(b) the marriage has been solemnized in
contravention of the condition specified in clause (b) of section 4; or
(c) consent of the petitioner was obtained by
force, coercion or by fraud as to the nature of the ceremony or as to any
material fact or circumstance concerning the respondent; or
(d) the respondent was at the time of marriage
pregnant by some person other than the petitioner.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section
(1), no petition for annulling a marriage,---
(A) on the ground specified in clause (c) of
sub-section (1), shall be entertained, if,---
(i) the petition is presented more than one year
after the force or coercion had ceased to operate or, as the case may be,
the fraud had been discovered; or
(ii) the petitioner has, with his or her full
consent, confirmed to live with the other party to the marriage as husband or
wife after the force had ceased to operate, or, as the case may be, the fraud
has been discovered; and
(B) on the ground specified in clause (d) of
sub-section (1) shall be entertained unless the Court is satisfied that,---
(i) the petitioner was, at the time of marriage,
ignorant of the facts alleged; and
(ii) the proceedings have been instituted, In the
case of marriage solemnized,---
(a) before the commencement of this Act within
one year of such commencement; and
(b) after such commencement, within one year from
the date of the marriage.
12. Termination of Hindu marriage.—(1) Any
Hindu marriage solemnized whether before or after commencement of this Act may,
on a petition presented to the Court by either a husband or a wife, be
terminated by decree of termination of marriage on the ground,---
(a) that the other party,---
(i) has, after the solemnization of the marriage,
treated the petitioner with cruelty; or
(ii) has deserted the petitioner for continuous
period of not less than two years immediately proceeding the presentation of
the petition:---
Explanation.—In this clause, the expression ”desertion”
means the desertion of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage
without reasonable cause and without the consent or against the wish of such
party and includes the willful neglect of the petitioner by the other party to
the Marriage; or
(iii) has ceased to be Hindu by conversion to
another religion; or
(iv) has been incurably of unsound mind or has
been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a
kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to
live with the respondent;
Explanation.—In this clause, the expression “mental
disorder” means mental other disorder or disability of mind including
schizophrenia and the expression “psychopathic disorder” means a persistent
disorder or disability of mind (whether illness, arrested or incomplete
development of mind, psychopathic disorder or any or not including
sub-normality of intelligence) which results in abnormally aggressive or
seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the other party and whether or
not it requires or is susceptible to medical treatment; or
(v) has been suffering from a virulent and
incurable from of leprosy; or
(vi) has been suffering from venereal disease in
a communicable from or HIV Aids; or
(vii) has renounced the world by entering any
religious order; or
(b) that there has been no resumption of
cohabitation as between the parties to the marriage for a period of more than
one year after he passing of decree for judicial separation or order of restitution
of conjugal rights passed by the Court.
(2) A wife may also present a petition for termination
of her marriage on the grounds,---
(a) in the case of any marriage solemnized before
commencement of this Act, that the husband had married again before such
commencement or that another wife of the husband married before such
commencement was alive at the time of the solemnization of the marriage of the
petitioner:---
Provided that in either case the other wife is alive
at the time of the presentation of the petition; or
(b) that the husband has neglected or has failed
to provide for her maintenance for a period of two years;
(c) that the husband has been sentenced to
imprisonment for a period of four years or upwards; or
(d) that her marriage, whether consummated or
not, was solemnized before she attained the age of eighteen’ years and she has
repudiated the marriage before attaining that age;
Explanation.—This clause .aplies whether the
marriage was solemnized before or after commencement of this Act.
13. Financial security of wife and children.—(1)
If a wife is respondent in a petition for termination for the marriage by
decree of termination, she may oppose the grant of decree on the ground that
the termination of the marriage may result in grave financial hardship for her
unless arrangements have been made to the satisfaction of the Court to
eliminate such hardship:---
Provided that nothing contained in this Act shall
affect any right which she may have to her dower or any part thereof on the
termination of marriage.
(2) The Court shall not pass a decree of termination
unless the Court is satisfied that adequate provisions for the maintenance of
children born out of the marriage has been made in commensuration with the
financial capacity of the parties to the, marriage.
14. Alternate relief in termination of marriage
proceeding.--In any proceeding under this Act, on a petition for
termination of marriage by decree of termination, except in so far as the
petition is found on the ground mentioned in sub-clauses (i), (ii), (iv) and
(vii) of clause (a) and clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 12, the Court
may, if it considers it just so to do having regard to the circumstances of the
case, pass, a decree for judicial separation instead oldecree for termination
of marriage.
15. Termination of Hindu marriage by mutual consent. (1) Subject to
the provisions of this Act, a petition for termination of marriage by decree of
termination may be presented to the Court by both the parties to a marriage
together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after commencement of
this Act, on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of
one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and they have
mutually agreed that the marriage should be terminated.
(2) On the decision by both the parties made not
earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition
referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the
said date, the Court shall, on being satisfied after hearing the parties and
after making such inquiry as-it thinks fit that a marriage has been solemnized
and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of termination
declaring the marriage to be terminated with effect from the date of the
decree.
16. Separated person may marry again—When a Hindu
marriage has been annulled or terminated by a decree of nullity or decree of
termination, as the case may be and the time for appeal has expired or an
appeal has been preferred but has been dismissed, it shall be lawful for either
party to the marriage so terminated to marry again after expiry of six months
from final decision.
17. Hindu widows are entitled to remarry.—A Hindu
widow shall have right tore-marry of her own will and consent after the death
of herhusband provided a period of six months has lapsed after the husband’s
death.
18. Legitimacy of child born out of void and voidable
Hindu marriage.—(1) Notwithstanding that a Hindu marriage is null and void
under section 10, any child of such marriage who would have been legitimate if
the marriage had been valid, shall be legitimate, whether such child is born
before or after commencement of this Act and whether or not a decree of nullity
is granted in respect of that marriage under this Act and whether or not the
marriage is held to be void otherwise than on a petition under this Act.
(2) Where a decree of nullity is granted in respect of
a voidable Hindu marriage under section 11, any child begotten or conceived
before the decree is made, who would have been the legitimate child of the
parties to the marriage if at the date of the decree it had been terminated
instead of being annulled, shall be deemed to be their legitimate child
notwithstanding the decree of nullity.
19. Validation of marriages.— All Hindu
marriages solemnized before commencement of this Act shall be deemed valid.
20. Punishment of bigamy.—Any Hindu marriage
solemnized after commencement of this Act is void if at the date of such
marriage either party had a spouse living and the provisions of section 494 and
495 of the Pakistan Panel Code, 1860 (Act XLV of 1860) shall apply accordingly.
21. Punishment for contravention of certain other
conditions for Hindu marriage. Every person who get his or her marriage
solemnized under this Act in contravention of the conditions specified in clauses (b) or
(c) of section (4) shall be punishable with simple imprisonment which may
extend to six months but not less than three months, or with fine which may
extend to five thousand rupees; or with both.
22. Court to which petition shall be presented—Every petition
under this Act shall be presented to the Family Court and the provision of,---
(a) the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964
(WPXXXV of 1964) except proviso of sub-section (4) of section 10, sub-section
(2) of section 14 and section 21 and 23 thereof; and
(b) the West Pakistan Family Court Rules 1965,
except proviso to clause (b) of rule (6) thereof;
shall mutatis mutandis apply to the
proceedings under this Act.
23. Penalty for violating the provision of this
Act.—(1) Any person who contravenes the provision of this Act or rules
made there under regarding registration of Hindu marriage shall be punishable
with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with
fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both.
(2) Any person who make statement or give particulars
to be entered in the shaadiparat, which is false or has reason to
believe to be false; shall be punished with a simple imprisonment which may
extend to six month .but not less than one month of a fine which may extend up
to one hundred thousand or with both.
24. Cognizance of offence under this Act.—Notwithstanding anything
contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (Act V of 1898), all offences
under this Act shall be non-cognizable and non-compoundable and the same shall
be triable by a Magistrate First Class on a complaint in writing by a marriage
registrar.
25. Power to make rules.—The Government may,
by notification in the official Gazette, make rules to carry out purposes of
this Act.
SHAADIPARAT
[See Section 7(3)]
1. Date of Marriage:
2. Name of Union Council, Tehsil, Town, District:
Particulars of Groom:
i. Full Name: CNIC No.
Father’s Name: CNIC .No.
iii Mother’s Name: CNIC No.
iv Date of Birth:
v.. Temporary Address:
Parmanent Address:
Matrimonial Status 
Single Married Divorced Widower
Number of Dependent’s:
4. Particular of Bride:
i. Full Name: CNIC No.
Father’s Name: CNIC No.
Mother’s Name: CNIC No.
iv Date of Birth:
Temporary Address:
Permanent Address:
Matrimonial Status: Single
Married Divorced Widow
Number of Dependents:
.5. Date of Solemnization of Marriage:
Place:
Signature of Bride:
Signature of Groom:
Signature of Witnesses: 1.
(CN1C No.
2.
(CNIC No.
Signature of Registrar:
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