Scanning Degrees of Prohibited Relationship in India

The law gives everyone the freedom to choose their life partners. The same law restricts certain people from this choice of marriage. Yes! This is about the degrees of prohibited relationship in India. Marriages in India are so far governed by personal laws in the absence of a Uniform Civil Code. These personal laws specify certain relations a person is prohibited from marrying. To have a better understanding, laws related to prohibited degrees of relationship have been reproduced below. 

Degrees of Prohibited Relationships in India

As mentioned earlier, personal laws declare prohibited degrees of relations. For a Hindu, the Hindu Marriage Act specifies the relations which are prohibited from marriage. Even if a person marries within such prohibited relations going against the law in the absence of any customs to support such marriage, such a marriage is usually void ab initio, having no existence in the eyes of law. The impact of a void marriage within prohibited relations is such that you can rarely enforce any rights related to such marriage. Hence, let us understand based on applicable laws who all fall within prohibited degrees of relationship in India.  

Prohibited Relationship in Hindu Marriage Act

The Hindu Marriage Act lays several important definitions in context with the statute. Section Section 3 (g) of the same specifies when two people are said to be within the “degrees of prohibited relationship”:

(i) if one is a lineal ascendant of the other; or 

(ii) if one was the wife or husband of a lineal ascendant or descendant of the other; or 

(iii) if one was the wife of the brother or of the father’s or mother’s brother or of the grandfather’s or grandmother’s brother of the other; or 

(iv) if the two are brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, or children of brother and sister or of two brothers or of two sisters; 

Explanation: Here, the term “relationship” includes the following

(i) relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood; 

(ii) illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate; 

(iii) relationship by adoption as well as by blood;

The conditions of valid Hindu Marriage require compliance with prohibited relations. Based on the aforementioned provision, Hindus in the same leniency are prohibited from marrying each other. Apart from the same line, degrees of prohibited relationship restrict marriage if they are related to each other by marriage or adoption. Half blood relations are those when two people have a common biological father and different mothers. Uterine blood relations are those when there is a common biological mother and different fathers. 

Prohibited Relations in Muslim Law

As we all know, the Muslim marriage law is not codified, but governed as per Sharia Laws. According to Muslim law, a person cannot marry within certain blood relations, marriage and fosterage relations. Blood relations prohibit marriage with mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, great-niece, aunts, or great-aunts. A person also cannot marry his wife’s mother/grandmother, wife’s daughter/granddaughter, son’s wife. Fosterage is given importance while deciding prohibited relations among Muslims. If a man during infancy had a foster relationship with a woman (who did not give birth to her but fed him milk), he cannot marry the woman’s daughter. 

Prohibited Relationship in Special Marriage Act

Section 2 (b) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 defines “degrees of prohibited relationship”. Those relations mentioned in the First Schedule are categorized as prohibited and include the following: 

(a) relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood; 

(b) illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate; 

(c) relationship by adoption as well as by blood; 

Here, “Full blood” and “half blood” means two people are descended from a common ancestor by the same wife. The relationship is by half blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives.“Uterine blood” is when parties are descended from a common ancestress but by different husbands. The relations mentioned in the first schedule of the Special Marriage Act have been covered in the list below suggesting the degrees of prohibited relationships for men and women in India. 

Prohibited Relationship among Christians

One of the grounds for nullity of marriage is if parties were within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity. Consanguinity refers to blood relations, having a biological relationship between individuals that share a common ancestor. On the other hand, affinity hints at kinship relations between two people created as a result of someone’s marriage. In other words, prohibited degrees of relations in Christians are about those relations created by ancestral  or marital relations.  

Prohibited Relations in Parsi Marriage

As per Section 3 of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, it is not a valid marriage if parties are related in any of the degrees of consanguinity or affinity. The terms consanguinity refer to ancestors and descendents, while affinity is all about relations made through marriage. 

As per prohibited relations of Parsis, a man legally cannot not marry the following relations:

1. Paternal grand-father’s mother. 

2. Paternal grand-mother’s mother. 

3. Maternal grand-father’s mother. 

4. Maternal grand-mother’s mother. 

5. Paternal grand-mother. 

6. Paternal grand-father’s wife. 

7. Maternal grand-mother. 

8. Maternal grand-father’s wife. 

9. Mother or step-mother. 

10. Father’s sister or step-sister. 

11. Mother’s sister or step-sister. 

12. Sister or step-sister. 

13. Brother’s daughter or step-brother’s daughter, or any direct lineal descendant of a brother or step-brother. 

14. Sister’s daughter or step-sister’s daughter, or any direct lineal descendant of a sister or step-sister. 

15. Daughter or step-daughter, or any direct lineal descendant of either. 

16. Son’s daughter or step-son’s daughter, or any direct lineal descendant of a son or step-son. 

17. Wife of son or step-son, or of any direct lineal descendant of a son or step-son. 

18. Wife of daughter’s son or of step-daughter’s son, or of any direct lineal descendant of a daughter or step-daughter. 

19. Mother of daughter’s husband. 

20. Mother of son’s wife. 

21. Mother of wife’s paternal grand-father. 

22. Mother of wife’s paternal grand-mother. 

23. Mother of wife’s maternal grand-father. 

24. Mother of wife’s maternal grand-mother. 

25. Wife’s paternal grand-mother. 

26. Wife’s maternal grand-mother. 

27. Wife’s mother or step-mother. 

28. Wife’s father’s sister. 

29. Wife’s mother’s sister. 

30. Father’s brother’s wife. 

31. Mother’s brother’s wife 

32. Brother’s son’s wife. 

33. Sister’s son’s wife. 

Similarly, the Parsi marriage law prohibits a woman from marrying the following relations:

1. Paternal grand-father’s father. 

2. Paternal grand-mother’s father. 

3. Maternal grand-father’s father. 

4. Maternal grand-mother’s father. 

5. Paternal grand-father. 

6. Paternal grand-mother’s husband. 

7. Maternal grand-father. 

8. Maternal grand-mother’s husband. 

9. Father or step-father. 

10. Father’s brother or step-brother. 

11. Mother’s brother or step-brother. 

12. Brother or step-brother. 

13. Brother’s son or step-brother’s son, or any direct lineal descendant of a brother or step-brother. 

14. Sister’s son or step-sister’s son, or any direct lineal descendant of a sister or step-sister. 

15. Son or step-son, or any direct lineal descendant of either. 

16. Daughter’s son or step-daughter’s son, or any direct lineal descendant of a daughter or step-daughter. 

17. Husband of daughter or of step-daughter, or of any direct lineal descendant of a daughter or step-daughter. 

18. Husband of son’s daughter or of step-son’s daughter, or of any direct lineal descendant of a son or step-son. 

19. Father of daughter’s husband. 

20. Father of son’s wife. 

21. Father of husband’s paternal grand-father. 

22. Father of husband’s paternal grand-mother. 

23. Father of husband’s maternal grand-father. 

24. Father of husband’s maternal grand-mother. 

25. Husband’s paternal grand-father. 

26. Husband’s maternal grand-father. 

27. Husband’s father or step-father 

28. Brother of husband’s father. 

29. Brother of husband’s mother. 

30. Husband’s brothers’ son, or his direct lineal descendant. 

31. Husband’s sister’s son, or his direct lineal descendant. 

32. Brother’s daughter’s husband. 

33. Sister’s daughter’s husband.

Note: The words “brother” and “sister” denote brothers and sisters of the whole as well as half blood. 

Degrees of Prohibited Relationship for Men in India

1. Mother. 

2. Father’s widow (step-mother). 

3. Mother’s mother. 

4. Mother’s father’s widow (step grand-mother). 

5. Mother’s mother’s mother. 

6. Mother’s mother’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother). 

7. Mother’s father’s mother. 

8. Mother’s father’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother). 

9. Father’s mother. 

10. Father’s father’s widow (step-grand mother). 

11. Father’s mother’s mother. 

12. Father’s mother’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother). 

13. Father’s father’s mother. 

14. Father’s father’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother). 

15. Daughter. 

16. Son’s widow. 

17. Daughter’s daughter. 

18. Daughter’s son’s widow. 

19. Son’s daughter. 

20. Son’s son’s widow 

21. Daughter’s daughter’s daughter. 

22. Daughter’s daughter’s son’s widow. 

23. Daughter’s son’s daughter. 

24. Daughter’s son’s son’s widow. 

25. Son’s daughter’s daughter. 

26. Son’s daughter’s son’s widow. 

27. Son’s son’s daughter. 

28. Son’s son’s son’s widow. 

29. Sister. 

30. Sister’s daughter. 

31. Brother’s daughter. 

32. Mother’s sister. 

33. Father’s sister. 

34. Father’s brother’s daughter.

35. Father’s sister’s daughter. 

36. Mother’s sister’s daughter. 

37. Mother’s brother’s daughter. 

Explanation: The expression “widow” includes a divorced wife.

Degrees of Prohibited Relationship for Women in India

1. Father. 

2. Mother’s husband (step-father). 

3. Father’s father. 

4. Father’s mother’s husband (step grand-father). 

5. Father’s father’s father. 

6. Father’s father’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father). 

7. Father’s mother’s father. 

8. Father’s mother’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father). 

9. Mother’s father. 

10. Mother’s mother’s husband (step grand-father). 

11. Mother’s father’s father. 

12. Mother’s father’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father). 

13. Mother’s mother’s father. 

14. Mother’s mother’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father). 

15. Son. 

16. Daughter’s husband. 

17. Son’s son. 

18. Son’s daughter’s husband. 

19. Daughter’s son. 

20. Daughter’s daughter’s husband. 

21. Son’s son’s son. 

22. Son’s son’s daughter’s husband.

23. Son’s daughter’s son. 

24. Son’s daughter’s daughter’s husband. 

25. Daughter’s son’s son. 

26. Daughter’s son’s daughter’s husband. 

27. Daughter’s daughter’s son. 

28. Daughter’s daughter’s daughter’s husband. 

29. Brother. 

30. Brother’s son. 

31. Sister’s son. 

32. Mother’s brother

33. Father’s brother. 

34. Father’s brother’s son. 

35. Father’s sister’s son. 

36. Mother’s sister’s son. 

37. Mother’s brother’s son. 

Explanation: The expression “husband” includes a divorced husband.

Conclusion

The degrees of prohibited relations in India are very clear in one thing, that a person can rarely marry in his/her own family. However, there are some personal laws which leave scope for customary practices. For example, there are certain cultures in India where a girl can customarily marry her maternal uncle. The Hindu Marriage Act in this case allows customary usage for marriage among prohibited relationships. Thus, to marry within the family, you need to check whether the customs allow it or not.