Watershed moment: NA adopts Hindu Marriage Bill

The bill paves the way for adoption of a comprehensive and widely acceptable family law for Hindus

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has unanimously passed the Hindu Marriage Bill 2016 by endorsing the amendments earlier made by the Senate in February.

The bill will become an act after it is signed by the president of Pakistan.

The bill, moved on Thursday by Human Rights Minister Kamran Michael, aims at easing growing insecurity among the Hindu community and paves the way for adoption of a comprehensive and widely acceptable family law for Hindus.

Under this bill, a Hindu marriage shall be solemnised if at the time of marriage, the parties are of sound mind and capable of giving valid consent.  Moreover, both the parties must not be below the age of eighteen years.



The bill necessitates that neither party has a spouse living at the time of marriage. However, this condition shall not apply where the living female spouse cannot conceive a child and is medically declared to be so.

The bill will enable the Hindu community to get their marriages registered while separation cases could be resolved in the courts. The bill also allows separated Hindu persons to remarry.

Clause 17 of the bill states that Hindu widows “shall have the right to remarry of her own will and consent after the death of her husband provided a period of six months has lapsed after the husband’s death.”

There are penalties for violating the provisions of the bill, which also enables Hindus to finally have a proof of marriage document called the shadiparat, similar to the nikahnama for Muslims.

Under this bill, the wife may also present a petition for termination of her marriage on certain grounds. The wife is entitled to termination of her marriage provided the husband has neglected, or has failed to provide her maintenance for a period of two years.



The wife may also apply for termination of marriage if the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of four years or upwards. The wife will be entitled to termination of marriage if her marriage, whether consummated or not, was solemnised before she attained the age  of eighteen years and she has repudiated the marriage before attaining that age.

All Hindu marriages solemnised before commencement of this act shall be deemed valid.

Any Hindu marriage solemnised after commencement of this act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a spouse living and the provisions of Section 494 and 495 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 shall apply accordingly.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2017.