Indian family laws

Story hook

It is March 2023, and the Supreme Court of India's Constitution Bench (CJI D.Y. Chandrachud + four judges) is hearing Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty v. Union of India — the marriage equality petitions. Twenty-one petitioners are asking the court to read down the Special Marriage Act 1954 to allow same-sex couples to marry. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta rises and says something that frames the entire dilemma of Indian family law: "Marriage in India is not just a contract — it is a sacrament under Hindu law, a contract under Muslim law, and an institution under Special Marriage Act. Each personal law has its own logic."

Six months later (17 October 2023), the bench refuses to legalise same-sex marriage 3-2, holding that marriage is a statutory institution + Parliament — not the court — must rewrite the SMA. The petitioners had hoped one law (SMA) could provide a workaround to the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat Application) Act 1937, the Indian Christian Marriage Act 1872, and the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act 1936 — the five-personal-law mosaic that governs how Indians marry, divorce, inherit, and adopt.

Why does India have five marriage laws plus a "secular" sixth? Because the Constitution (Article 25) protects religious freedom, Article 44 exhorts the State to "endeavour" to secure a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) — but does not compel it. Seventy-five years later, the UCC is still a Directive Principle, not law (except in Uttarakhand, 2024). The personal-law system both protects diversity and entrenches inequality. This file maps it.

Why this matters for UPSC

Family law is the most-asked UPSC topic in the family-marriage unit of GS-I (asked in Mains 2016 "Patriarchy is the root cause of women's issues", 2019 "What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space?", 2021 "The reservations for women in local self-government has not been satisfactory") and a recurring Prelims topic (Triple Talaq 2017-19, UCC Uttarakhand 2024, Supriyo 2023). The Article 44 / UCC angle is GS-II constitutional as well.

Interview boards almost always ask about UCC, triple talaq, marriage equality + the Hindu Code Bills (Nehru-Ambedkar story). Expect a question this year given the Uttarakhand UCC rollout (Jan 2025).