Indian Legal System > Civil Laws > Family Laws > The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 > Conditions for Valid Hindu Marriage: Soundness of Mind
Section 5 of the Act of 1955 prescribes conditions for a valid Hindu Marriage. A marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus if the conditions given in section are fulfilled. In this article, we shall study the second condition prescribed in the section. i.e. Soundness of mind.
Section 5: the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955:
Condition for a Hindu Marriage:A marriage may be solemnized between any
two Hindus, if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:
(i) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage;
(ii) at the time of the marriage, neither party,-
(a) is incapable of giving a valid consent of it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or
(b) though capable of giving a valid consent has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; or
(c) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy;
(iii) the bridegroom has completed the age of twenty one years and the bride the age of eighteen years at the time of the marriage;
(iv) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;
(v) the parties are not sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;
(vi) (Omitted)
Section 5(ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955:
Neither party should be suffering from unsoundness of mind, mental disorder or insanity:
Section 5(ii) lays down that the parties to the marriage are of sound mind and are not suffering from any mental disability so as to be unfit for giving valid consent. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 originally laid down that neither party to the marriage should be an idiot or lunatic. Under this Act, the marriage of the idiot or lunatic was only voidable
Judicial Interpretation of Soundness of Mind Before the Act:
Under the old Hindu Law as per the texts, a Hindu marriage was a pure sacrament, and therefore, idiots and lunatics could be lawfully married, as a consenting mind was not necessary.
An “idiot” is “he, that a fool from his birth and knoweth not how to count
or number, or can not name his father or mother, nor of what age he himself is, or such as easy and common matters; so that it appeared that he has no manner of understanding, or reason, or government of himself, or what is for his profit or disprofit
In Amrithammal v. Vallimayil Ammal AIR 1942 Mad 693 and Ratneshwari v. Bhagwati AIR 1950 PC 142 cases the Courts held that according to ‘Smritis’, mental soundness was not a condition for marriage. It necessarily implies that a person of unsound mind could marry and his marriage was legally safeguarded in the name of samskara.
Amendments in Section 5 (ii) :
Originally, Section 5(ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 laid down that: “Neither party to the marriage should be an idiot or lunatic at the time of marriage”.
The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 has reframed this clause
thus-
At the time of the marriage, neither party
a) is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; (or)
b) though capable of giving valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind (or) to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; (or)
c) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity (or epilepsy)
The word epilepsy has been omitted from the H. M. Act, 1955 by the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1999.
Explanation of Section 5(ii) Soundness of mind Defined:
Under sub-clause (a) of Section 5 Clause (ii), every kind of ‘unsoundness of mind’ is not covered. The unsoundness of mind should be such, which incapacitates a person from giving a valid consent to the marriage. It need not be persistent or continuous unsoundness of mind. It may exist just before the marriage
Under sub-clause (b) of Section 5 Clause (ii), the person is capable of giving a valid consent but suffering from mental disorder of such a kind (or) to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children. The words “has been suffering” requires that mental disorder should be of some duration. The duration will differ from case to case, and no hard and fast rule can be laid down. It is not every ‘mental disorder’ which renders the marriage voidable, but should satisfy two conditions given in the clause: first, it renders him unfit for marriage, and the second renders him unfit for procreation of children.
In Smt. Alka Sharma v. Abhinesh Chandra Sharma, AIR 1991 MP 205 case, the Court held that nullity of marriage under the word “and” between expression “unfit for marriage” and “procreation of children”, in Sec. 5 (ii) (b) should be read as “and” / “or”. The court can nullify marriage if either condition or both conditions contemplated exist due to mental disorder making living together of parties highly unhappy. The Court also opined that the word “procreate” includes the capacity to rear up children besides the capacity to beget them.
Under sub-section (c) of Section 5 Clause (ii), recurrent attacks of insanity make a person unfit for marriage. He cannot marry even during a lucid interval. This sub-section has made a substantial difference between the original provision and the present provision. The original provision was that neither party was an idiot or a lunatic at the time of the marriage. It could mean that a person who was suffering from recurrent attacks of insanity could marry during a lucid interval because then it could not be said that he was an idiot or a lunatic at the time of marriage. This clause looks at the mental state even before marriage. The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1999 has omitted the word ‘epilepsy’. Thus now there is no condition of the marriage that a party to the marriage should not suffer from ‘recurrent attacks of epilepsy.
In R. Lakshmi Narayana v. Santhi (2001)4 SCC 688 case, the Court held that the marriage which takes place in contravention of the condition prescribed in Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is not per se void but voidable under Sec.12 (1) (b) of the Act.
Conclusion:
As per Section 5(ii), the parties in Hindu marriage should have soundness of mind.
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