Hindu Marriage Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1955
Section 30 of Hindu Marriage Act: Repeals
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
Rep. by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1960 (58 of 1960), section 2 and First Schedule.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 30
Section 30 formally repealed the pre-existing provincial and regional Hindu matrimonial statutes, completing the pan-Indian statutory unification of Hindu marriage laws under a single codified enactment.
Formal Repeals: Repealed prior provincial enactments, including the Hindu Marriage Disabilities Removal Act, 1946, the Hindu Marriages Validity Act, 1949, the Bombay Prevention of Hindu Bigamous Marriages Act, 1946, and the Madras Hindu (Bigamy Prevention and Divorce) Act, 1949.
Legislative Consolidation: Replaced disparate state and provincial enactments with a uniform, comprehensive, all-India code governing Hindu matrimonial law.
Repeal by Repealing and Amending Act: Section 30 itself was formally repealed as spent legislation by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1960 (Act 58 of 1960), while preserving the unified legal architecture it established.
Key Landmark Precedents:
Satyadhana Ghosal v. Deorajin Debi AIR 1960 SC 941: The Supreme Court confirmed that the formal repeal of an amending or repealing provision by a general Repealing and Amending Act does not revive the statutes originally struck down or disturb the codified law established thereby.
Keshavan Madhava Menon v. State of Bombay (1951) SCR 228: Reaffirmed the principle that statutory repeals consolidate legislative intent and protect rights acquired or accrued during the operation of the repealed frameworks.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:
In historical title investigations or inheritance disputes where the validity of a pre-1955 marriage or divorce is contested, refer to the provincial enactments preserved under General Clauses Act Section 6, while recognizing that all post-1955 marriages are governed exclusively by the HMA.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 30
Section 30 formally repealed the pre-existing provincial and regional Hindu matrimonial statutes, completing the pan-Indian statutory unification of Hindu marriage laws under a single codified enactment.
In historical title investigations or inheritance disputes where the validity of a pre-1955 marriage or divorce is contested, refer to the provincial enactments preserved under General Clauses Act Section 6, while recognizing that all post-1955 marriages are governed exclusively by the HMA.