Who are Hindus? For who Hindu law will be applicable or who are governed/covered by Hindu law? [2006 D.J.H.C]

 

 

The term Hindu is derived from the Greek word “Indoi”. The Greeks used to call the inhabitants of the “Indus Valley” as “Indoi”.

The term Hindu is a general term embracing all those who are commonly so known. A person is a Hindu who is born of Hindu parents or is brought up according to the tenets of a Hindu religion in any of its forms and developments.

 

In Perumal Nadar vs. Ponnuswami, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has pointed out that a person may be a Hindu by birth or by conversion.

 

The Hindu law applies/governs/covers the following:-

1.  not only to Hindus by birth, but also to Hindus by religion, i.e., converts to Hinduism(, a case in point being Abraham vs Abraham).

 

In Maneka Gandhi vs. Indira Gandhi, the Court held that Sanjay Gandhi who was born to a parsi father and a Hindu mother was brought in the mother’s family i.e., Indira Gandhi’s family who was a Hindu. Hence, he is a Hindu by birth and Hindu law will be applicable to him.

 

2.  to illegitimate children where both parents are Hindus, a case in point being Re Ram Kumari.

 

3.  to illegitimate children where the father is a Christian and the mother is a Hindu, and the children are brought up as Hindus, a case in point being Moyna Boyee vs. Octaram.

 

4.  to Jains (Sheo Singh vs. Dakho), Buddhists in India, Sikhs (Rani Bhagwan Koer vs. Bose) and Nambudiri Brahmins (Vishnu vs. Akkamma) except so far as such law is varied by customs and to Lingayats, who are considered Sudras (Tirkangauda vs. Shivappa)

 

5.  to a Hindu by birth who, having renounced Hinduism, has

reverted/reconverted to it after performing the religious rites of expiation and repentance (Kusum vs. Satya) or even without a formal ritual of re-conversion when he was recognised as a Hindu by his community (Durga Prasada Rao vs. Sundarsanaswami).

 

[ In Perumal vs. Ponnuswami, the Privy Council has held that rituals, ceremonies are not important, but intention and faith important ]

 

[ If a Hindu becomes non-Hindu i.e., converts to a Muslim for example, then if he reconverts, it is reconversion. So, if Jain to Muslim, can convert to Jainism, Buddhism, etc, no restriction is there. ]

 

6.      To sons of Hindu dancing girls of the Naik (Naikins) caste converted to Mohammedanism where the sons are taken into the family of the Hindu grandparents and are brought up as Hindus (Ram Pergash vs. Mussammat Dahan Bibi).

7.  to Brahmos (In the goods of Jnanendra Nath Roy), to Arya Samajists (Mst Suraj vs. Attar), and to Santhals of Chota Nagpur (Chunka vs. Bhabani) and also to Santhals of Manbhum (Budhu vs. Dukhan), except so far as it is not varied by custom and

 

8.  to Hindus who made a declaration that they were not Hindus for the purpose of the Special Marriage Act, 1872.

 

The four enactments of 1955 and 1956 i.e.,

1)  The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

2)  The Hindu Succession Act, 1956

3)  The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956

4)  The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956

expressly mention the persons to whom they are applicable.

 

Persons to whom Hindu Law does not apply:-

 

The Hindu law does not apply-

i)     To the illegitimate children of a Hindu father by a Christian mother who are brought up as Christians or to illegitimate children of a Hindu father by a Mohammedan mother because these are not Hindus either by birth or by religion

 

ii)     To the Hindu coverts to Christianity. A person ceases to be a Hindu in religion cannot since the passing of the Act of 1865 elect to continue to be bound by the Hindu law in the matters of succession.

 

iii)     To a convert from Hindu to Mohammedan faith, but the conversion must be bona fide i.e., if a Hindu converts to become a Muslim only to legalise his second marriage without divorcing the first Hindu wife the conversion is not bona fide and Hindu law of monogamy shall continue to apply on such converted Muslim (as observed by the SC in Sarla Mudgal vs UoI)

 

iv)     To property of any person professing the Hindu, Sikh or Jain religion who married under the Special Marriage Act, 3 of 1872 or the property of the issue of such marriage. These are governed by Ss. 32 to 48 of the Indian Succession Act. Also, see S. 21 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and S. 5(1) of the Hindu Succession Act.

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