News Excerpt

The Delhi High Court has upheld the validity of the statute banning ‘sapinda’ marriages in Hindu couples under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

More details on news:

• In 2007, a sapinda marriage was declared void, prompting the woman to appeal the ruling in the Delhi HC, which was dismissed in 2023.
  • She then challenged the constitutional validity of Section 5(v) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA), arguing it infringes on the Right to equality under Article 14.
• Despite claiming sapinda marriages are common without proof of custom and emphasising family consent, the Delhi HC rejected her arguments.
• The court emphasised the need for stringent proof of an established custom and upheld the regulation of partner choice in marriage.

What is a Sapinda marriage?

• Sapinda marriage is a union between individuals closely related to a certain degree, defined under Section 3 of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA).
• According to the Act, individuals are considered sapindas if one is the lineal ascendant of the other or if they share a common lineal ascendant within specified limits.
• The HMA prohibits such marriages within three generations on the mother's side and five generations on the father's side.
• If a sapinda marriage violates this rule without an established custom permitting it, the court can declare it void from the beginning.
• Exceptions exist only if the customs of the individuals involved permit such marriages, subject to specific criteria outlined in the HMA.

Theories related to Sapinda Relation

• The core of the concept of sapinda lies in the word pinda, which literally means one’s body.
• Vijaneshwara’s theory of sapinda implied the connection of people through the same body, i.e., two people connected through the same body in the form of a common ancestor.
  • This connection between people was defined through the particles of the body they shared with each other.
  • A son was a sapinda to his father and grandfather as they shared the same particles in their bodies. Drawing on this analogy, a son would become a sapinda to his mother and other maternal relations as they too, would share the same particles in their bodies.
• In contrast, Jimutavahana’s theory on the same subject was based on the notion of oblation. He opined that the meaning of pinda was an offering made to deceased ancestors.
  • Hence, those people who offered oblation, or pind-daan, to the same common ancestor were sapindas of each other.
• The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 rejected the theory of sapindaship by oblation and incorporated Vijaneshwara’s concept after certain modifications, such as relaxing the limits of sapinda relations.
  • In all essence, this novel concept has been included in the law to promote exogamy, i.e., the norm of marrying outside one’s own social group.