tesTopper provides a remarkable plateform for practicing Hindu Law (Hindu Marriage Act) for all state judicial services examinations and public prosecutors officers examinations such as Higher judicial services, additional district judge exam, judicial magistrate exams, civil judge junior division examination, Assistant prosecutors examination, central buearue of investigation public prosecutors, assistant district attorney, district prosecution officer exam, RJS,DJS, pcs j, cj, hjs, apo, ada, adpo, jm, and all other judicial services examination called with whatever name.

Practice Sets on Hindu Law are important part of any judicial services examination. Atleast 5-6 questions from this sections were asked during the exam. tesTopper has good collection on questions based on Hindu Law from previous year examinations and ffrom our Legal Experts Team at tesTopper. 

Judicial Services aspirants can also see previous years questions papers , model papers on different subject such as Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, Indian Contract Act, Muslim law, Hindu law, Criminal Procedure Code and all central acts which come into thier competititive examination for different year such as 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023. The vacancies whenever notified by the various high court or state public service commission are also displayed on the site for user perusal so that they may fill thier examination form on time.

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We should know about the Hindu Law because it is one of the oldest and most ancient pedigrees of any system of jurisprudence. It holds many rules and principles which are still established in society. Bangladesh is known as the third largest hindu populated country and also Bangladesh was found as a secular state when the constitution was made. Though Islam was made the state religion it still respects and values the other religions and Hindus are the second majority of people in Bangladesh. So it is obvious that when the conflicting issues are arising in the court a huge portion will be a part of Hindu Law, so we should have a clear idea about Hindu Law. 

Synopsis of Hindu Law

Hindu law comes from the very earliest period. It has gone through many phases and now it has evolved and prospered much. As we know the history of hindu law comes from a very early period, it is known as the most ancient lineage of any system of jurisprudence. Law was understood as a branch of Dharma. Its ancient structure is the work of the Smritis, which is the institute and it enunciates the rules of Dharmas. Dharma means an expression which assembles duties and obligations, religious, moral, social and legal aspects. The sources of Hindu laws can be divided into two categories namely:- Traditional sources and Modern sources, and these two divisions are categorised into more groups. To begin with, there are 4 traditional sources of Hindu law and these are; Shruti ( Vedas), Smrities, Digest and Commentaries, Customs. 

Shruti 

It means Vedas which is the original root and source of Dharma. It’s a belief that this law was the very word of God. Shruti literally means being heard and it is also accepted as the original utterances of the great power. It is to be believed that it’s a supreme source of Hindu law and language of God. Vedas are divided into 4 types: The Rig Veda, The Yajur Veda, The Sama Veda and The Atharva Veda). 

Smrities

In literal meaning it means recollection. The Smrities were expressed in the words of the rishis or sages who saw or received the revelations and proclaimed their recollections. The recollections are handed by the sages or rishis from generation to generation in order to preserve. It is known that there are many writers of Smrities but it was impossible to identify the exact number of writers. There are two types of Smrities: Dharamasutras and Dharamshashtras, the main difference between these two is Dharamasutras are written in the form of story and Dharamshashtras are written in the form of shlokas (poetry). 

Digest and Commentaries

It emerged due to the conflicts that were arising because difference of opinion was arising and all the smrities were not according to one another and this led to various interpretations. Digests were mainly in written form. Even the two principal schools of Hindu Law emerged from this. The main two Hindu Law schools are: Dayabagha and Mitakshara. Dayabhaga is mainly from the Digests and Mitakshara is from the commentaries. It is more of a compilation of previous laws into a more developed form for the betterment of the society. 

Customs

Customs are generally known as some practices which are followed or obeyed by people for a considerable amount of time. It is to be considered that these practices are being followed by people for a considerable period. It is also a principal source of Hindu Law and it is superior to written law. 

Now we are going to talk about the modern sources of Hindu Law and these are:

1. Equity Justice
2. Legislation and
3. Precedent

Equity Justice

Equity in simple terms means just being fair. There are some situations that arise in court and it cannot be resolved by the established laws or previous ones, on rare circumstances like this one the equity plays a fair part it simply plays fair in these types of circumstances. The decision should be based on good conscience so that any injustice is not occurring to the matter to be solved. 

Legislation

An act which is passed through parliament is basically legislation. It plays one of the important roles in the formation of Hindu Law. It provides a base and authority to the laws. Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, Hindu Adoption Act etc. comes under this branch of legislation. 

Precedents

It is to be known as a source of Hindu Law from two perspectives. Firstly, the Hindu Law represents the important rules and principles that represent in the case laws and secondly, from this source the judicial interpretation, doctrine, principles and rules are introduced to the body of Hindu Law. For the aforementioned things the precedents are the sources of authority. 

As we know there are two principal schools of Hindu Law:- Mitakshara and Dayabhaga. 

Mitakshara: It is established all over India, except Bengal. It is based on the commentary on the institutions of Yajnavalkya. It is also divided into 5 categories and these are: a) The Benaras School, b) The Mithila School, c) The Dravida or Madras school and, d) The Bombay or Maharashtra School. 

Dayabhaga: It is mainly established in Bengal and this is also established in Bangladesh. It is not based on commentary. It was written by Jimutavahana. One of the major differences between Mitakshara and Dayabhaga is the law of Inheritance. The right to property rises from the birth of the claimant which is when a son is born he becomes the co-owner of the ancestral property but in the school of Dayabhaga the right to property is born when there is death of the last owner of the property, during father’s lifetime the son has no right over the property. 

The Hindu Law is applicable to all the Hindus of Bangladesh and India but other than that it is also applicable to the persons who are followers of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Hindu Law covers the matters of inheritance, marriage, guardianship, will, gift, partition, religious institutions of hindus. 

The four major legislations were passed around the time 1955-1956. From that time the modern Hindu Law was established in a broader way to the society. The major four acts that are followed now are as follows: 

1. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
2. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956
3. The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956
4. The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956

To conclude, we can have a short idea about why we should know about Hindu Law and why it is necessary to know about the legislation relating to Hindu Law. From the above synopsis we cannot have a broad idea but we can surely have a general idea about Hindu Law and why we should read it. 

Hindu Laws fall under the collective category of personal laws. Hindu Laws comprise 5 different acts, namely the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, and the Hindu Disposition of Property Act. These are essential for every law exam in India. So to help you prepare better, here is a list of all important sections of Hindu Laws.

Important Sections of Hindu Law

This list of essential sections has been categorised according to different Acts. Hindu Disposition of Property Act, 1916 only has five sections, and thus it has not been included.

Important Sections of Hindu Marriage Act

Section 2 – Application of Act.
Section 3 – Definitions.
Section 5 – Conditions for a Hindu Marriage.
Section 7 – Ceremonies for a Hindu Marriage.
Section 8 – Registration of Hindu Marriages.

Section 9 – Restitution of conjugal rights.
Section 10 – Judicial Separation.
Section 11 – Void marriages.
Section 12 – Voidable marriages. (Difference between Void and Voidable Marriage)

Section 13 – Divorce.
Section 13B – Divorce by mutual consent.
Section 14 – No petition for divorce to be presented within one year of marriage.
Section 16 – Legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages.
Section 17 – Punishment of Bigamy.
Section 23 – Decree in proceedings.
Section 24 – Maintenance pendent elite and expenses of proceedings.
Section 25 – Permanent alimony and maintenance.

Important Sections of Hindu Succession Act

Section 3 – Definitions and interpretations.
Section 5 – Act not to apply to certain properties.
Section 6 – Devolution of interest in coparcenary property.
Section 8- General rules of succession in the case of males.
Section 9 – Order of succession among heirs in the Schedule.
Section 10 – Distribution of property among heirs in Class I of the Schedule.
Section 11 – Distribution of property among heirs in Class II of the Schedule.
Section 12 – Order of succession among agnates and cognates.

Section 14 – Property of a female Hindu to be her absolute property.
Section 15 – General rules of succession in the case of female Hindus.
Section 16 – Order of succession and manner of distribution among heirs of a female Hindu.
Section 19 – Mode of succession of two or more heirs.
Section 21 – Presumption in cases of simultaneous deaths.
Section 25 – Murderer disqualified.
Section 26 – Convert’s descendants disqualified.
Section 29 – Failure of heirs.
Section 30 – Testamentary succession.

Important Sections of Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act

Section 4 – Definitions.
Section 6 – Natural guardians of a Hindu minor.
Section 7 – Natural guardianship of adopted son.
Section 8 – Powers of natural guardian.
Section 9 – Testamentary guardians and their powers.
Section 11 – De facto guardian not to deal with minors property.
Section 13 – Welfare of minor to be paramount consideration.

Important Sections of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act

Section 3 – Definitions.
Section 5 – Adoptions to be regulated by this Chapter.
Section 7 – Capacity of a male Hindu to take in adoption.
Section 8 – Capacity of a female Hindu to take in adoption.
Section 9 – Persons capable of giving in adoption.
Section 10 – Persons who may be adopted.
Section 11 – Other conditions for a valid adoption.
Section 12 – Effect of adoptions.

Section 18 – Maintenance of wife.
Section 19 – Maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law.
Section 20 – Maintenance of children and aged parents.
Section 21 – Dependents defined.
Section 22 – Maintenance of dependents.
Section 23 – Amount of maintenance.

Hindu Law for Exams

What you saw above was a list of all the important sections of Hindu Law. Use it to prepare well for your semester exam or competitive legal exams. If you are an advocate, you have no shortcuts. You will have to be acquainted with the entire Hindu Law bare acts. Now, these important sections are helpful. But make sure you see your exam syllabus carefully and do not skip any essential parts. Also, most Hindu Law Acts are small. Definitely read them two or three times from start to end.

Judicial Services aspirants can practice unlimited on any of the following modules important for judicial services. In almost all state judicial services exams, these modules contain significant no of questions. We at tesTopper collected and prepared almost 300+ Module tests for judicial services aspirants.