Hindu Widows´ Re-marriage Act, 1856

Exact source transcription retained, including print layout and extraction artifacts. Text SHA-256: 554d83057548a6e5748352e2a20d8fc4b2d96ab9db062d6ec96e1ea90cfee34b.

Page 1 of 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE HINDU WIDOWS’ RE-MARRIAGE ACT, 1856 
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS 
 
PREAMBLE 
1.  Marriage of Hindu widows legalized 
2.  Rights of widow in deceased husband’s property to cease on her re-marriage 
3.  Guardianship of children of deceased husband on the re-marriage of his widow.  
4.  Nothing in this Act to render any childless widow capable of inheriting 
5.  Saving of rights of widow marrying, except as provided in sections 2 to 4 
6.  Ceremonies constituting valid marriage to have same effect on widow’s marriage 
7.  Consent to re-marriage of minor widow 
Punishment for abetting marriage made contrary to this section 
Effect of such marriage 
Consent to re-marriage of major widow 
 
 

 
Page 2 of 4 
 
1[THE HINDU WIDOWS’ RE-MARRIAGE ACT, 1856] 
ACT No. XV OF 1856 
[25th July, 1856] 
An Act to remove all legal obstacles to the marriage of Hindu Widows. 
Preamble. WHEREAS it is known that, by the law as administered in the Civil Courts established in 
the territories in the possession and under the Government of the East India  Company, Hindu 
widows with certain exceptions are held to be, by reason of their having been once married, 
incapable of contracting a second valid marriage, and the offspring of such widows by any second 
marriage are held to be illegitimate and incapable of inheriting property; 
 AND WHEREAS many Hindus believe that this imputed legal incapacity, although it is in 
accordance with established custom, is not in accordance with a true interpretation of the precepts of 
their religion, and desire that the civil law administered by the Courts of Justice shall no longer 
prevent those Hindus who may be so minded from adopting a different custom, in accordance with 
the dictates of their own conscience; 
 AND WHEREAS it is just to relieve all such Hindus from this lega l incapacity of which they 
complain, and the removal of all legal obstacles to the marriage of Hindu widows will tend to the 
promotion of good morals and to the public welfare; it is enacted as follows:- 
 1. Marriage of Hindu widows legalized.  No marriage contracted between Hindus shall be 
invalid, and the issue of no such marriage shall be illegitimate, by reason of the woman having been 
previously married or betrothed to another person who was dead at the time of such marriage, any 
custom and any interpretation of Hindu law to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 2. Rights of widow in deceased husband’s property to cease on her re -marriage. All 
rights and interests which any widow may have in her deceased husband's property by way of 
maintenance, or by in heritance to her husband or to his lineal successors, or by virtue of any will or 
testamentary disposition conferring upon her, without express permission to re -marry, only a limited 
interest in such property, with no power of alienating the same, shall upon her re-marriage cease and 
determine as if she had then died; and the next heirs of her deceased husband, or other persons 
entitled to the property on her death, shall thereupon succeed to the same.  
 
 
 
lShort title given by the Short Titles Act, 1897 (14 of 1897). 
This Act has been declared to be in force in all the Provinces and the Capital of the Federation, except the Scheduled Districts, by the Law Local Extent 
Act, 1874 (15 of 1874), s. 3. 
It has been declared, by notification under s. 3 (a) of the Sch eduled Districts Act, 1874(14 of I874), to be in force in the following Scheduled Districts, 
namely- 
Sind   ..   ..    ..     See Gazette of India, 1880, Pt. I, p. 672. 
The District of Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. [Portions of the Districts of Hazara, Bannu, Dera Ismail khan 
and Dera Ghazi Khan and the Districts of Peshawar and Kohat now form the N.W.F.P., see Gazette of India, 1901, Pt. I., p. 857 , and ibid., 1902, Pt. I, 
p. 575; but its application to that part of the Hazara District known as Upper Tanawal has been barred by the Hazara (Upper Tanawal) Regulation, 1900 
(2 of 1900)]-see Gazette of India, 1886, Pt. I, p. 48. 
 
Page 3 of 4 
 
 3. Guardianship of children of deceased husband on the re -marriage of his widow.  On 
the re -marriage of a Hindu widow, if neither the widow nor any other person has been expressly 
constituted by the will or testamentary disposition of the deceased husband the guardian of his 
children the father or paternal grandfather or the mother of paternal gra ndmother, of the deceased 
husband, or any male relative of the deceased husband, may petition the highest Court having 
original jurisdiction in civil cases in the place where the deceased husband was domiciled at the time 
of his death for the appointment o f some proper person to be guardian of the said children, and 
thereupon it shall be lawful for the said Court, if it shall think fit, to appoint such guardian, who 
when appointed shall be entitled to have the care and custody of the said children, or of an y of them 
during their minority, in the place of their mother; and in making such appointment the Court shall 
be guided, so far as may be by the laws and rules in force touching the guardianship of children who 
have neither father nor mother: 
 Provided tha t, when the said children have not property of their own sufficient for their 
support and proper education whilst minors, no such appointment shall be made otherwise than with 
the consent of the mother unless the proposed guardian shall have given security  for the support and 
proper education of the children whilst minors. 
 4. Nothing in this Act to render any childless widow capable of inheriting. Nothing in this 
Act contained shall be construed to render any widow who, at the time of the death of any pers on 
leaving any property, is a childless widow, capable of inheriting the whole or any share of such 
property, if before the passing of this Act, she would have been incapable of inheriting the same by 
reason of her being a childless widow. 
 5. Saving of rights of widow marrying, except as provided in sections 2 to 4.  Except as in 
the three preceding sections is provided, a widow shall not, by reason of her re -marriage forfeit any 
property or any right to which she would otherwise be entitled; and every wido w who has re-married 
shall have the same rights of inheritance as she would have had, had such marriage been her first 
marriage. 
 6. Ceremonies constituting valid marriage to have same effect on widow’s marriage.  
Whatever words spoken, ceremonies performed  or engagements made on the marriage of a Hindu 
female who has not been previously married, are sufficient to constitute a valid marriage, shall have 
the same effect if spoken, performed or made on the marriage of a Hindu widow; and no marriage 
shall be declared invalid on the ground that such words, ceremonies or engagements are inapplicable 
to the case of a widow. 
 7. Consent to re -marriage of minor widow.  If the widow re -marrying is a minor whose 
marriage has not been consummated, she shall not re -marry without the consent of her father, or if 
she has no father, of her paternal grandfather, or if she has no such grandfather, of her mother, or, 
failing all these, of her elder brother, or failing also brothers, of her next male relative. 
 Punishment for abe tting marriage made contrary to this section.  All persons knowingly 
abetting a marriage made contrary to the provisions of this section shall be liable to imprisonment for 
any term not exceeding one year or to fine or to both. 
 Effect of such marriage.  And all marriages made contrary to the provisions of this section 
may be declared void by a Court of law: Provided, that in any question regarding the validity of a 
marriage made contrary to the provisions of this section, such consent as is aforesaid shall b e 
presumed until the contrary is proved, and that no such marriage shall be declared void after it has 
been consummated. 
 
Page 4 of 4 
 
 Consent to re -marriage of major widow.  In the case of a widow who is of full age, or 
whose marriage has been consummated, her own cons ent shall be sufficient consent to constitute her 
re-marriage lawful and valid. 
 
___________ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date: 13-09-2024