Marriage under the Hindu law after the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (amending the Hindu Marriage…

Under traditional Shastric Hindu law, marriage was regarded as an indissoluble religious sacrament (samskara). With the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the extensive reforms introduced by the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976—most notably the introduction of divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B, expanded grounds for divorce and judicial separation under Sections 13 and 10, and conditions regarding valid consent and minimum age under Section 5—contractual elements were integrated into Hindu marriage. At the same time, it retains its sacramental character through mandatory customary rites and ceremonies such as saptapadi under Section 7, making Hindu marriage a blend of both a sacrament and a contract rather than purely one or the other.