Law For Womens

What is meant when the law uses the term "Hindu"?

The term "Hindu" in post-independence Hindu law governing marriage, divorce, adoption, maintenance, guardianship and succession, describes not only persons who are Hindu by religion, but also those who are Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain. Roughly speaking, the term "Hindu" encompasses those Indians who are not Christian, Parsi, Muslim, or Jewish for the purposes of the law.

Since in India various communities have different customs and

ceremonies, the law says that a marriage can be performed or "solemnised" according to the customary rituals and ceremonies of the community to which either the bride or the groom belongs. It is very important to understand that the rituals and ceremonies carried out must be recognised and accepted by the community concerned as being the proper ones for formalising a marriage. For example, the law makes it very clear that in a Hindu marriage, where the ceremony includes the saptpadi, the ritual of circling the sacred fire seven times, the ceremony becomes complete and the marriage binding when the seventh round is completed.

The Muslim marriage is governed not by the Indian Majority Act, 1875 but by Muslim law itself. According to Muslim Law, Marriage / 'Nikah' is a contract underlying a permanent relationship based on mutual consent.

Essential Features of Muslim Nikah

• A Muslim marriage requires proposal (Ijab) from one party and acceptance (Qubul) from the other as is required for a contract.
• There can be no marriage without free consent and such consent should not be obtained by means of coercion, fraud or undue influence.
• Just as in case of contract, entered by a guardian, on attaining majority, so can a marriage contract in Muslim Law, be set aside by a minor on attaining the age of puberty.
• The parties to a Muslim marriage may enter into any ante-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement which is enforceable by law provided it is reasonable and not opposed to the policy of Islam. Same is the case with a contract.
• The terms of a marriage contract may also be altered within legal limits to suit individual cases.
• Although discouraged both by the holy Quran and Hadith, yet like any other contract, there is also provision for the breach of marriage contract.

Requirements of Muslim Nikah
The solemnization of a Muslim marriage requires adherence to certain forms and formulas. They are called the essentials of a valid marriage. If any of these requirements is not fulfilled the marriage becomes either void or irregular, as the case may be. The essentials are as follows :

• Proposal and Acceptance
• Competent Parties
• No legal Disability

The prescribed form of marriage for the Christian community is monogamy, which is one husband; one wife and they may have

marital relationship only with each other. Ajudge could also perform the marriage if there is no clergy member to marry them. The clergyman performs the marriage as an agent of the state as well as the church. While a written contract or document is preferable, a verbal commitment is sufficient. In most ceremonies, people recite a vow or at least say, "I do" after the minister, reads it. Thus, the intent for a marriage and the consummation thereof makes a marriage.

This is a landmark ruling in Indian Judicial system. Other companies can now file for protection from imitation brand names and from look alike products. This ruling will have a deep impact on how products are packaged & marketed in India. In India where there are so many look alike products - designed to fool people. For example Cadbury's Eclair Chocolates have several imitations.

The onus on protecting the IP however lies with the IP owner. Indian legal system does not allow the state administration to proactively protect other's IP. But with this ruling from Supreme Court, lower courts can easily decide and pass similar judgments. Also IP owners can quote this case to warn other imitators

Rape is defined in India as intentional, unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent . The essential elements of this definition under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code are 'sexual intercourse with a woman' and the absence of consent. This definition therefore does not include acts of forced oral sex, or sodomy, or penetration by foreign objects; instead those actions are criminalized under Section 354 of the IPC, which deals with 'criminal assault on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty' and Section 377 IPC, covering 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature'