It is believed that “Hindu Law” is a divine law. It was revealed to the people by God through Vedas. Various sages and ascetics have elaborated and refined the abstract concepts of life explained in the Vedas. Before the codification of Hindu Law, the ancient literature was the only source of the law. The Hindu law has undergone radical transformation in the past 50 years. In this modern times, the same laws have been retrofitted to suit present conditions and have been codified in the form of several acts of which the important ones are - Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, and Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Old doctrines relating to the concepts of joint family property, coparcenary and survivorship became outdated.

There is universal agreement that personal laws, regardless of the community, are skewed against women. A Uniform Civil Code – which will cover the entire gamut of laws governing rights relating to property, marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption and inheritance – has been most argued on behalf of women.

In a big boost to the campaign for a Uniform Civil Code, the Supreme Court has held that there was no connection between religious and personal law in a civilised society and favoured putting in place a common code governing all religious communities. Justice Khare said, “We would like to state that Article 44 provides that the state shall endeavour to secure for its citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India. The aforesaid provision is based on the premise that there is no necessary connection between religious and personal law in a civilised society.”

“It is a matter of regret that Article 44 of the Constitution has not been given effect to. Parliament is still to step in for framing a common civil code in the country. A common civil code will help the cause of national integration by removing the contradictions based on ideologies,” the Chief Justice said. 

This book provides a short cut to the students of the  3/5 year law degree course to enable them to get a broad understanding of the topics that would be covered under the revised syllabus with effect from the academic year 2020. Though every effort has taken to incorporate the developments / amendments on the subject, it may happen that some developments might have taken place subsequent to release of the book for publication. Hence, the readers are therefore advised to study recent amendments / case laws.