CHAPTER I – PRELIMINARY 1. Short title and extent. (1) This Act may be called the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. (2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Read Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act on a single, systematic page. Download PDF forRead…

2. Application of Act. (1) This Act applies- (a) to any person, who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments, including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj, (b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina orRead…

3. Definitions. In this Act unless the context otherwise requires- (a) the expressions “custom” and “usage” signify any rule which, having been continuously and uniformly observed for a long time, has obtained the force of law among Hindus in any local area, tribe, community, group or family; Provided that theRead…

4. Overriding effect of Act. Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act- (a) any text, rule or interpretation of Hindu law or any custom or usage as part of that law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to have effect with respect to anyRead…

CHAPTER II – ADOPTION 5. Adoptions to be regulated by this Chapter. (1) No adoption shall be made after the commencement of this Act by or to a Hindu except in accordance with the provisions contained in this Chapter, and any adoption made in contravention of the said provisions shallRead…

6. Requisites of a valid adoption. No adoption shall be valid unless- (i) the person adopting has the capacity, and also the right, to take in adoption; (ii) the person giving in adoption has the capacity to do so; (iii) the person adopted is capable of being taken in adoption;Read…

7. Capacity of a male Hindu to take in adoption. Any male Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to take a son or a daughter in adoption. Provided that, if he has a wife living, he shall not adopt except with theRead…

8. Capacity of a female Hindu to take in adoption. Any female Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to take a son or daughter in adoption: Provided that if she has a husband living, see shall not adopt a son or daughterRead…

9. Persons capable of giving in adoption. (1) No person except the father or mother or the guardian of a child shall have the capacity to give the child in adoption. (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the father or the mother, if alive, shall have equal rightRead…

10. Persons who may be adopted. No person shall be capable of being taken in adoption unless the following conditions are fulfilled, namely- (i) he or she is a Hindu; (ii) he or she has not already been adopted; (iii) he or she has not been married, unless there isRead…

11. Other conditions for a valid adoption. In every adoption, the following conditions must be complied with:- (i) if any adoption is of a son, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu son, son’s son or son’s son’s son (whether byRead…

12. Effect of adoptions. An adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of his or her adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date of the adoption and from such date all the ties of the child in the family of his or herRead…

13. Right of adoptive parents to dispose of their properties. Subject to any agreement to the contrary, an adoption does not deprive the adoptive father or mother of the power to dispose of his or her property by transfer inter vivos or by will. Read Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance ActRead…

14. Determination of adoptive mother in certain cases. (1) Where a Hindu who has a wife living adopts a child, she shall be deemed to be the adoptive mother. (2) Where an adoption has been made with the consent of more than one wife, the senior most in marriage among themRead…

15. Valid adoption not to be cancelled. No adoption which had been validly made can be cancelled by the adoptive father or mother or any other person, nor can the adopted child renounce his or her status as such and return to the family of his or her birth. ReadRead…

16. Presumption as to registered documents relating to adoption. Whenever any document registered under any law for the time being in force is produced before any court purporting to record an adoption made and is signed by the person giving and the person taking the child in adoption, the courtRead…

17. Prohibition of certain payments. (1) No person shall receive or agree to receive any payment or other reward in consideration of the adoption of any person, and no person shall make or give or agree to make or give to any other person any payment or reward the receiptRead…

CHAPTER III – MAINTENANCE 18. Maintenance of wife. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a Hindu wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be entitled to be maintained by her husband during her lifetime. (2) A Hindu wife shall be entitled to live separatelyRead…

19. Maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law. (1) A Hindu wife, whether married before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be entitled to be maintained after the death of her husband by her father-in-law; Provided and to the extent that she is unable to maintain herself out of her ownRead…

20. Maintenance of children and aged parents. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section a Hindu is bound, during his or her lifetime, to maintain his or her legitimate or illegitimate children and his or her aged or infirm parents. (2) A legitimate or illegitimate child may claim maintenanceRead…

21. Dependents defined. For the purposes of this Chapter “dependents” mean the following relatives of the deceased- (i) his or her father; (ii) his or her mother; (iii) his widow, so long as she does not remarry; (iv) his or her son or the son of his predeceased son orRead…

22. Maintenance of dependents. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the heirs of a deceased Hindu are bound to maintain the dependents of the deceased out of the estate inherited by them from the deceased. (2) Where a dependent has not obtained, by testamentary or intestate succession, anyRead…

23. Amount of maintenance. (1) It shall be in the discretion of the court to determine whether any, and if so what, maintenance shall be awarded under the provisions of this Act, and in doing so, the court shall have due regard to the consideration set out in sub-section (2)Read…

24. Claimant to maintenance should be a Hindu. No person shall be entitled to claim maintenance under this Chapter if he or she has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion. Read Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act on a single, systematic page. Download PDF for Hindu AdoptionsRead…

25. Amount of maintenance may be altered on change of circumstances. The amount of maintenance, whether fixed by a decree of court or by agreement either before or after the commencement of this Act, may be altered subsequently if there is a material change in the circumstances justifying such alteration.Read…

26. Debts to have priority. Subject to the provisions contained in Section 27 debts of every description contracted or payable by the deceased shall have priority over the claims of his dependents for maintenance under this Act. Read Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act on a single, systematic page. Download PDFRead…

27. Maintenance when to be a charge. A dependent’s claim for maintenance under this Act shall not be a charge on the estate of the deceased or any portion thereof, unless one has been created by the will of the deceased, by a decree of court, by agreement between theRead…

28. Effect of transfer of property on right or maintenance. Where a dependent has a right to receive maintenance out of an estate and such estate or any part thereof is transferred, the right to receive maintenance may be enforced against the transferee if the transferee has notice of theRead…

30. Savings. Nothing contained in this Act shall affect any adoption made before the commencement of this Act, and the validity and effect of any such adoption shall be determined as if this Act had not been passed. Read Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act on a single, systematic page. DownloadRead…