Optional Grouping: Legality & Registration

Driving Without A License

While driving, it is mandatory to keep a copy of a valid Driving License with you at all times 1, and present it to a police officer on demand 2. Now, you can also carry an electronic copy of your driving license in the DigiLocker or mParivahan app 3. If you hold a valid driving license but do not have it when an officer asks you to produce it, you may be punished with a fine between Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 4. You may alternatively produce it to the officer/authority who has asked you for it, within a stipulated time period, which varies across states 5. 

 If your license has been submitted to or seized by, governmental authority or officer, then you must produce a receipt or any other form of acknowledgement, and produce the license within a stipulated time period that varies across states 2. 

If you drive a vehicle and you do not possess a driving license or have not attained the required age to drive it, then your vehicle can be seized and detained by a police officer 6. Furthermore, you can be punished with a fine of Rs. 5,000 or with jail time of up to 3 months, or both 7.

The applicable fine amount might vary across states. Given below are the fine amounts of different offences for two states.

State Type of Vehicle Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi Not applicable 5,000
Karnataka Two/Three-Wheeler 1,000
Light Motor Vehicle 2,000
Others 5,000
  1. Section 6(3),  Motor Vehicles (Driving) Regulations, 2017.[↩]
  2. Section 130(1), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.[↩][↩]
  3. Section 139, Central Motor Vehicles Rules,1989.[↩]
  4. Section 177A, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.[↩]
  5. Section 130(4), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.[↩]
  6. Section 207(1), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.[↩]
  7. Section 181, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.[↩]

Legal Hindu Marriage

For a marriage to be legally recognized as a Hindu marriage, the following conditions must be met:

  • The couple should be seen as Hindus by law.
  • The husband is over 21 and the wife over 18 years of age when the wedding took place.
  • Both husband and wife are of sound mind.
  • Neither husband nor wife can be married at the time of marrying each other.
  • Husband and wife are not in a prohibited relationship.
  • Husband and wife are not sapindas of one another.

If any of these conditions are not met, then the law may not recognize your Hindu marriage as being legal, and in some cases, you might face punishment.

Hindu Spouse

If you want to be a Hindu spouse and marry under the Hindu Marriage Act, you have to be one of the following set of persons:

  • Any person who is a Hindu by religion. This includes Veerashaiva, Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana, or Arya Samaj.
  • Buddhist, Jain or Sikh by religion.
  • Any other person to which the Act applies who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi, or Jew by religion.

If you are governed by Hindu law or custom or usage, then you can marry under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Minimum Age for Hindu Marriage

The minimum age for a marriage under Hindu law is:

  • the groom must have been over 21 years of age and
  • the bride must have been over 18 years of age

The punishment for not adhering to this requirement is simple imprisonment which may extend to fifteen days, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.

If either one of the parties is not of marriageable age, the marriage is considered a child marriage and is a voidable marriage.

Underage Driving

You have to be above a certain age to drive motor vehicles in a public place. Given below are the age limits stipulated by the law:

  • To drive any motor vehicle (except a motorcycle with an engine capacity of fewer than 50 cc): 18 years 1 
  • To drive a motorcycle with an engine capacity of fewer than 50 cc: 16 years 1 
  • To drive a transport vehicle (for example, a truck): 20 years

If you are under the age required to drive a particular type of motor vehicle, but you drive it anyway, then you can be punished with a fine of Rs. 5,000 or with jail time of up to 3 months, or both 2. The applicable fine amount might vary across states. 

Given below are the fine amounts for two states:

State Type of Vehicle Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi Not applicable 5,000
Karnataka Two/Three-Wheeler 1,000
Light Motor Vehicle 2,000
Others 5,000
  1. Section 4(1), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.[↩][↩]
  2. Section 181, The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.[↩]

Relationship Status and Hindu Marriage Law

At the time of marriage, you should not have a married spouse who has not divorced his previous spouse. If you are a divorcée you can enter into a marriage again only if your divorce is complete.

Neither party should have a spouse living at the time of the marriage. You can file a civil injunction to try to stop your spouse from getting married to someone else.

If your spouse is still alive, it is a crime to be married to another person. Your first spouse can file a criminal case against you. This is an act of bigamy. This is not an easy process because the first spouse will have to produce concrete proof –  even another child being born out of the second marriage is not enough.

If this is proven, you might go to jail for up to 10 years and also have to pay a fine.

Registration of Hindu Marriage

Registration of marriages in Hindu Law is given under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act. This allows the State Government to make rules regarding registration.

The State Government may make rules about how the marriage details should be entered in the Hindu Marriage Register. The State Government can also make marriage registration compulsory in the State if it thinks this is necessary. In this case, any person violating the rule by not making an entry in the marriage register can be punished with a fine of up to Rupees twenty-five.

However, even if the entry has not been made, it does not mean that your marriage is invalid. If you take a look at the table given, you can see that each state has its own rules for Hindu marriages:

STATE LINK
   
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Hindu Marriage Registration Rules, 1965
Jammu and Kashmir The Jammu and Kashmir Hindu Marriage Registration Rules,2012
Meghalaya The Meghalaya Hindu Marriage Rules, 2006
Mizoram Mizoram Compulsory Registration of Marriages Rules, 2007
Kerala Kerala Hindu Marriage Registration Rules, 1957
Madhya Pradesh The Madhya Pradesh Hindu Marriage Registration Rules,1984
Orissa The Orissa Hindu Marriages Registration Rules, 1960
Uttar Pradesh The Uttar Pradesh Hindu Marriage Registration Rules, 1973
Punjab Hindu Marriage (Punjab) Registration Rules, 1960