Taxmann’s Family Law – I by Manju Arora Relan – 1st Edition 2025.

Taxmann’s Family Law – I by Manju Arora Relan – 1st Edition 2025.

Description

Family Law – I offers a clear, case law-led and statute-grounded exposition of personal laws governing Hindu and Muslim families in India. Divided into two comprehensive parts—Hindu Law (identity, sources, marriage, matrimonial remedies, nullity, divorce, jurisdiction & procedure, maintenance, adoption, guardianship, family courts) and Muslim Law (identity, schools & sources, nikāḥ and its incidents, talaq/khula/mubarat, dissolution under the 1939 Act, iddat, maintenance including the 1986 Act, acknowledgement of paternity, guardianship)—the book blends doctrinal clarity with constitutional perspectives and contemporary debates (RCR, polygamy, nikāḥ ḥalāla, transgender marriages, live-in recognition, interplay with BNS/BNSS/PCMA). Each chapter opens with a crisp synopsis and closes with a ‘Summary’, supported by rich case-law tables and statutory extracts.

This book is intended for the following audience:

• LL.B./B.A., LL.B. Students seeking a concept-first, exam-ready text aligned to university syllabi
• Judicial Service & Bar Exam Aspirants needing chapter-wise scaffolding with landmark cases and recent amendments
• LL.M. Scholars & Researchers exploring doctrinal evolution, constitutional interfaces, and comparative views
• Academicians requiring a handy, well-indexed reference to provisions, principles, and leading authorities

The Present Publication is the Latest Edition, authored by Prof. Manju Arora Relan, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Two‑part Architecture] Part A (Hindu Law) and Part B (Muslim Law), each opening with identity, sources, and schools before moving to institutions (marriage, divorce, maintenance, guardianship, adoption) and procedure
• [Doctrine and Discourse] Doctrinal exposition paired with debates on autonomy, equality, dignity and constitutional scrutiny of personal laws
• [Up‑to‑date Statutory Canvas] Discussion spans the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956, the Guardians and Wards Act 1890, the Family Courts Act, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019, and maintenance under Section 125 CrPC (now Section 144 BNSS), among others
• [Landmark Case Laws] Supreme Court and High Court decisions are woven into the analysis; an extensive List of Cases supports quick referencing
• [Comparative Insights] Mitakshara vs Dayabhaga; Sunni and Shia sub‑schools; intersections of custom, personal law, and constitutional mandates
• [Contemporary Issues] Marriage with transgender persons, registration of marriages, legitimacy and coparcenary rights, UCC debates, and constitutional challenges to practices like RCR and Nikah Halala
• [Learning Aids] Every chapter ends with a Summary; content is organised with headings/sub‑headings for fast navigation

The coverage of the book is as follows:

• Part A — Hindu Law (Chs. 1–15)
  • Identity & Foundations – Who is a Hindu? (statutory reach, converts, customary communities); Schools (Mitakshara & Dayabhaga; women’s rights; migration & conversion); Sources (Śruti, Smṛti, commentaries, custom, precedent, legislation)
  • Marriage & its Evolution – Anthropological and Indian historical development; eight classical forms; colonial codification; Hindu Marriage Act 1955 (Section 4’s overriding effect); ceremonies and registration; void/voidable marriages; child marriage (PCMA 2006; status and case law); marriage with transgender persons
  • Matrimonial Remedies – Restitution of Conjugal Rights—meaning, ingredients, constitutional validity; Judicial Separation
  • Nullity & Theories of Divorce – Impotence, consent vitiation (force/fraud), pre‑marital pregnancy; fault, consent, and breakdown theories; 1976 reforms; additional statutory grounds
  • Dissolution of Marriage – Adultery, cruelty, desertion, conversion, mental disorder, communicable disease, renunciation, presumption of death; Section 13(1‑A) breakdown; wife’s special grounds; mutual consent (procedure, withdrawal, cooling‑off); customary divorce; irretrievable breakdown (Supreme Court’s exercise of powers; Law Commission perspectives); remarriage; legitimacy of children of void/voidable marriages and coparcenary/service‑benefit rights
  • Jurisdiction & Procedure – Local jurisdiction, CPC application, transfer, evidence & in‑camera proceedings, bars to relief, reconciliation duty, counter‑claims, appeals
  • Ancillary Proceedings & Maintenance – Section 24 maintenance pendente lite; permanent alimony, custody (Section 26), stridhan and disposal of property; multiplicity of maintenance remedies, effective date (application/order/summons), enforcement and striking off defence
  • Adoption – Capacity (male/female), who may give/receive, custom, incidents and effects; JJ Act adoption (eligibility, domestic & inter‑country procedures); presumptions and factum valet
  • Guardianship & Family Courts – Natural, testamentary, court‑appointed and de facto guardians; welfare principle; reforms; Family Courts—establishment, jurisdiction, procedure, appeals
• Part B — Mulsim Law (Chs. 16–23)
  • Identity, Schools & Sources – Who is a Muslim?; key milestones and cases; Sunni/Shia sub‑schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali; Shia branches); primary and secondary sources of Islamic law
  • Marriage (Nikah) – Proposal & acceptance, competency, prohibited degrees, iddat, void vs irregular marriages, registration, muta marriage (incidents and cases), constitutionality, polygamy debates and Law Commission notes, PCMA interface, inter‑religious marriages, RCR and its enforcement
  • Divorce – Husband‑initiated talaq (capacity, oral/written), talaq‑ul‑sunnat vs talaq‑ul‑biddat and the 2019 Act; contingent and delegated talaq (talaq‑i‑tafweez); khula and mubarat, and their effects; Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act grounds; conversion/apostasy; irretrievable breakdown debates; halala
  • Acknowledgement of Paternity – Presumptions of legitimacy, inheritance implications, modern challenges; adoption under Muslim personal law vs JJ Act 2015
  • Guardianship – Natural/legal, testamentary, court‑appointed and de facto guardians; guardianship of person, in marriage, and of property; mother’s rights; powers/duties; interaction with Guardians and Wards Act 1890
  • Maintenance (Nafaqah) – Sources and principles; children’s maintenance post‑divorce; post‑divorce maintenance (iddat, CrPC/BNSS interface); Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986; protection under PWDVA 2005; effect of conversion

The structure of the book is as follows:

• Progressive Logic – Identity → sources and schools → core institutions (marriage, divorce, maintenance, guardianship, adoption) → courts & procedure
• Chapter Design – Clear statutory extracts, leading precedents, conceptual explanations, and a chapter‑end Summary
• Teaching Utility – Headings/sub‑headings mirror typical Family Law–I syllabi; the List of Cases and Subject Index enable rapid research and exam prep
• Comparative Method – Cross‑references between Hindu and Muslim law where doctrines intersect or diverge.

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