Family and Marriage Law

Any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly by one party to another party of a marriage is called dowry. It is of the many social evils leading to a number of women deaths. Government and many non-government organisations have been trying to abolish this social crime from many years. Act of accepting and receiving dowry is responsible for abuses which include Emotional trauma, depression, suicide etc.

Dowry refers to transfer of property, gifts or money at the marriage of a daughter. The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 provides for a penalty if any person gives, takes or abets giving or receiving of dowry. The Act provides the penalty for directly or indirectly demanding dowry and provides for a penalty involving a prison term of not less than 6 months and extendable up to two years along with a fine of Rs.10,000.

Family laws are laws that deal with family-related matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, etc. In India, different family laws apply to followers of different religions.

The children are the supreme assets of the nation. The child marriage violates the right of the child to grow in a healthy and developing environment to grow up in a responsible adult. The child marriage hinders the natural development of children which proceeds with their age. A child is a person which requires special care and attention, child marriage brings early maturity in children with the burden of maintaining a family while girl child is exploited under the pressure of bearing a child while she herself is still a child. Child marriage denies the right to education of children and violates almost all human rights. 

The children are the supreme assets of the nation. The child marriage violates the right of a child to grow in a healthy and developing environment to grow up as a responsible adult. The child marriage hinders the natural development of children which proceeds with their age. A child is a person which requires special care and attention, child marriage brings early maturity in children with a burden of maintaining a family while girl child is exploited under the pressure of bearing a child while she is still a child. Child marriage denies the right to education of children and violates almost all human rights. Many girl children face violence and abuse after marriage from the family of child groom which restricts the further mental and physical growth.

Main goal of establishment of family courts is for secure and speed settlement of disputes relating to marriage and family affairs. Matters like divorce, separation, maintenance, custody of children are usually dealt in family courts.

Lok Adalat is a special type of court in which disputes are settled by the mutual consent. Disputes are solved by direct talks between litigants. Main condition of the Lok Adalat is that both parties in dispute should agree for settlement. It is a court designed to shorten the time taken for settling disputes especially in the cases like partition of property and matrimonial cases.

The basis of membership in business is birth in a particular family. As soon as a child (boy or girl)  born into the family, he becomes a member and ceases to be a member by death. Hence, there is no age limit for membership in Joint Hindu Family business. 

Migration means moving of people from one place to another. Migration is affected by various social factors. In many societies brides (women) move to their husband's home or household after marriage as is culturally accepted.

The marriage of a child below 18 years of age is Child Marriage. In India, Child Marriage was prevalent in ancient society. Child Marriage has been made an offense by enacting The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 which provides for provisions to prohibit Child Marriage, punishment for persons who abet, promote and solemnize Child Marriage.

In olden days marriage was a sacred rite and people lived together in joint families. But these days the scene is changed, in which marriage has become a compromise with increase in number of divorces and kinship relations being limited. Main reason behind this is urbanisation, impact of western culture, busy lifestyle of people and western education.

Child marriages and dowry system are still prevalent in the Indian society.

• Child marriage is a marriage performed between any male below 21 years and female below 18 years according to Indian policy. Child marriages have following disadvantages: Lack of understanding ability, a risk of miscarriage among women and sexual relation becoming strenuous.
  
• Any property or valuable security is given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly by one party to another party of a marriage is called dowry. It is of the many social evils leading to a number of women deaths.
  

• Sati: It is one of the social evils of Indian society present in olden days. It is a Hindu funeral custom where a widow immolates herself on her husband's pyre or commits suicide. Sati is abolished in India.
  
• Child marriage: It is a marriage performed between any male below 21 years and female below 18 years according to Indian policy. It is still practiced.
  
• Dowry system: Any property or valuable security is given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly by one party to another party of a marriage is called dowry. It is of the many social evils leading to a number of women deaths. It still exists.
  

A divorce is an act of legally ending marriage and relation among the married people. In present days there is an increase in a number of divorces. Some of the reasons behind increased divorces include urbanization, the impact of western culture and western education. The practice of divorce is seen a lot in urban areas.

Family laws that deal with family-related matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, etc. In our country, different family laws apply to followers of different religions.