A Brief description about Hindu Legal System

1. HINDU LEGAL SYSTEM AND
ITS INFLUENCE
PRESENTED BY-
SMITA SATAPATHY
ROLL NO-020
LLM

2. INTRODUCTION
 Hindu law is a personal law. In addition to
India, it is also applied to Hindus in other
countries such as Burma, Malaya, Kenya and
Tanzania.
 The word “Hindu used to refer to the ethnic
group of people or Indians and, in the thirteenth
century, the word “Hindu” was more widely used
to distinguish them from the Islamic kingdoms
within India.

3.  “Hinduism” was used during the British
Rule in the nineteenth century to refer
to the Hindu religious culture group as
distinct from Christianity and Islam.
 The following people are considered to
be Hindu with respect to application of
Hindu Law-
• Hindu by Religion
• Hindu by Birth
• Persons who are not Muslim, Christian,
Jew, or Parsee by religion.
• Persons who are not governed by any
other religious law will be governed by
Hindu Law.

4. RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS
 The word dharma is derived from the root
dhr, which means to uphold, sustain, and
nourish. "Dharma" is a comprehensive term,
that encompasses notions of duty, morality,
ritual, law, order, and justice.
 Law embraced all of life and was
synonymous with virtue. The Hindu word
for law- "dharma"-shows this derivation

5.  Shruti means "what is heard".
 Smriti means "what is remembered
 Smritis can be divided into two - Early smritis
(Dharmasutras) and Later smritis
(Dharmashastras).
 Dharmasutras were mostly written in prose
form but also contain verses. It is clear that
they were meant to be training manuals of
sages for teaching students. Important are-
 Gautama-inheritance, partition, and stridhan
 Baudhayan- marriage, sonship, and
inheritance
 Apastamba- rejected prajapatya marriage
 Vashistha- remarriage of virgin widows

6.  Dharmashastras were mostly in metrical
verses and were based of Dharmasutras.
However, they were a lot more systematic
and clear. They dealt with the subject matter
in three parts-
 Aachara : This includes the theories of
religious observances,
 Vyavahar : This includes the civil law.
 Prayaschitta : This deals with penance and
expiation.

7.  Manusmriti compiles all the laws that were
scattered in pre-smriti sutras and gathas.
 Commentaries (bhasya) take the form of
linguistic exegeses, hypothetical examples,
and theoretical disquisitions on a single
Dharmasastra text.
 Caste system- 4 types-
1. Brahmanas
2. Kshtriyas
3. Vaisyas
4. Sudras

8.  The Hindu law, as we all know, got
divided into two branches --- the
Mitakshara and the Dayabagha.
 The Mitakshara prevailed over the
whole of India except Bengal and
Assam, while the Dayabhaga prevailed
in Bengal and Assam.
 The difference arose because two
different interpretations were given by
the commentators to one word `pinda’

9.  Hindu law can primarily be divided
into three categories:
1. the 'Classical Hindu Law',
2. the 'AngloHindu Law', and
3. the 'Modern Hindu Law'.
 The Classical Hindu Law includes
the diverse legal practices
connected with the Vedic Traditions
in some ways and existing from the
Vedic times until 1772. This phase

10.  Anglo-Hindu Law can be divided into two
phases.
1. The first phase is the period between 1772
and 1864. This phase starts in 1772 when
the British adopted rules for administration
of justice in Bengal.
2. The second phase is the period between
1864 and 1947. After 1864, India was
formally part of the British Empire, and in
1947, India became independent of the

11.  Modern Hindu Law-The British
adopted (especially during 1864
and 1947) the modern law or the
English legal system and replaced
the existing Indian laws, except for
laws related to family or personal
matters like marriage, inheritance
and succession of property. Family
law or the personal law applicable to
Hindus is the Modern Hindu Law.

12. ATTEMPTS TO CODIFY LAW
 A major attempt at codification was made in
1947 when the Hindu Code Bill was
introduced in the Indian Legislative
Assembly.
 Fresh efforts were made to codify the law in
a piecemeal fashion as a result of which the
Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, the Hindu
Succession Act of 1956, the Hindu Minority
and Guardianship Act of 1956, the Hindu
Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956 and

13. ROLE OF CUSTOMS
 Customs means a traditional and widely
accepted way of behaving or doing
something that is specific to a particular
society, place, or time.
 Customs are of three types:
 Local Customs- The peculiar law of a country
prevailing from time immemorial without
conflicting with the Vedas is called Desachar
or local or territorial custom

14.  Family Customs- kulachar is the usage
confined to a particular family
 Caste and Community Customs – A caste
custom binds all the members of a caste
residing in a particular area. It varies with
localities even among the members of the
same caste.
 Custom and usage are not synonymous
terms. A usage is a repetition of acts
whereas custom is the law or general rule

15. INFLUENCE OF HINDU LAW
 Marriage rites transmitted through
Greece to Rome, i.e. after the birth of
a child the rite of purification was
performed.
 Ceremony of tonsure spread to
China and Japan.
 Greece adopted belief to have a son

16.  Father considered as head of the family
in Rome
 In Rome at the time of the Twelve Table
(No. 4), like Hindu father, could sell his
offspring only in cases of extreme
necessity in order to save both from
privation.
 Woman must never seek independence,
Roman and Greece, adopted the
principle of perpetual guardianship for
women

17. CONCLUSION
 The principles of Hindu law
constitute an unusual unmatched in
the history of the world. Unlike other
religion Hinduism does not require its
members to accept particular
religious doctrines about God, and
soul, the creation, redemption, and
so on. It is open to every Hindu to
believe in one God or another, in

18. THANK YOU