Hindu marriage act

trupti (Querist) 09 July 2013 This query is : Resolved
hello,
this is great platform for people like us who are layman and not known much about law.
I would like to ask a query related hindu marriage act.
1)I would like to know whether a woman gets rights when she is a wife of a married man(not divorced from first wife).
2)is marriages in temples legal? and after marriage in temple is there a necessity to register in registrar's office?
3)what is social and legal status of second wives?

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Advocate M.Bhadra (Expert) 09 July 2013
As per your query please note the following

1)First marriage is legal and second marriage is void.
2)no
3)nil

For a Hindu Second marriage, during the subsistence of the first marriage, is illegal in India and the relationship arising from the same does not have any validity. Even though the law is very clear on this point, 'second marriage' is a common practice in Indian society. As a result of the aforementioned contrast between the law and social practice, second wives in India have little protection under the law.

With the commencement of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA), one of the condition provided for a valid for a valid marriage was that neither party should have a spouse living at the time of the marriage. Under the old law, there was a bar against a woman marrying a second husband while her first husband is alive unless custom permitted her. There was no such bar against men, till some States passed laws for prevention of bigamous marriages, and introduce the principle of monogamy among Hindus. After 1955, with the help of the aforementioned provision and Section 11, Hindu Marriage Act, second marriages came be declared null and void ab initio. In this behalf, under the Hindu Marriage Act it is necessary is a marriage according to the customs and rites, and secondly, that the spouse of the first marriage was a legally wedded spouse and the second marriage was subsisting on the date of the second marriage.

The social relation attached with being a second wife, the absence of any legal status to the relationship, and the enormous pain of being cheated into the marriage are undoubtedly extremely depressing for a woman. Even though there is no recognition given to a second wife, due to the judicial interpretation of existing law as discussed above, she may have some chances of getting maintenance. In the absence of any clear provisions under the law, her chances of claiming her rights are largely dependent on the discretion of the judges.

Delhi High Court
Suresh Khullar vs Sh. Vijay Kumar Khullar on 27 August, 2007
Equivalent citations: AIR 2008 Delhi 1, 148 (2008) DLT 685
Author: A Sikri
Bench: A Sikri, A Suresh
JUDGMENT

A.K. Sikri, J.

under the law a second wife whose marriage is voidon account of the survival of the first marriage is not a legally wedded wife and is, therefore, not entitled to maintenance under this provision. Therefore, the law which is disentitles the second wife from receiving maintenance from her husband under Section 125 Cr.P.C., for the sole reason that the marriage ceremony though performed in the customary form lacs legal sanctity can be applied only when the husband satisfactorily proves the subsistence of a legal and valid marriage particularly when the provision in the Code is a measure of social justice intended to protect women and children.