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Section 19: Effect of marriage on member of undivided family

Special Marriage Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1954
Section 18 All 51 Sections of Special Marriage Act Section 20

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 19

Section 19 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 enacts the statutory severance of a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, or Jain member from an undivided family upon marriage.

  • Core Legal Standard: Section 19 provides that the marriage solemnized under this Act of any member of an undivided family who professes the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion shall be deemed to effect his severance from such family.
  • Operational Mechanism: This provision operates as a statutory partition by operation of law.
  • Procedural Rule: From the instant of solemnization, the person's coparcenary status in the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) is severed, and he is treated as having separated from the joint family, taking his undivided share as separate property.

However, the rigor of this section was dramatically softened by the insertion of Section 21A in 1976.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Maneka Gandhi v. Indira Gandhi (AIR 1984 Del 428): The Delhi High Court analyzed the legal effects of Section 19, holding that statutory severance under Section 19 crystallizes the individual coparcenary share of the person marrying under SMA, converting joint tenancy into separate ownership.
  • CIT v. Smt. Satyendra Kumari (1998) 232 ITR 560: The High Court affirmed that severance under Section 19 terminates the right of survivorship among other coparceners in respect of the departing member's share, subjecting that share to individual income tax assessment.
Legal Commentary:

Section 19 historically penalized Hindus marrying under the civil code by forcing a severance from their ancestral joint family. However, following the enactment of Section 21A by the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976, if both parties marrying under the SMA are Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, or Jains, Section 19 does not apply, and their coparcenary rights in the joint family remain fully intact.

Section 18 All 51 Sections of Special Marriage Act Section 20