UGC NET LAW (058) · UNIT 07 · REVISION
Family Law Rapid-Recall Sheet
Each line is a typical direct-recall item. Use it in the last days of revision, after you have read the topics and the exam traps.
- 86 high-yield facts
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High-yield facts
| Item | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Collector of Madura v Moottoo Ramalinga (1868) | Sources; Clear custom overrides written text |
| State of Bombay v Narasu Appa Mali (1952) | Sources; Personal law is not ‘law in force’ for Article 13 (contested) |
| Vishwa Lochan Madan v Union of India (2014) | Sources; Fatwas and Sharia courts have no legal force |
| Bhaurao Lokhande v State of Maharashtra (1965) | Marriage; Solemnisation requires proper ceremonies |
| Dolly Rani v Manish Kumar Chanchal (2024) | Marriage; Hindu marriage needs ceremonies; registration is evidence only |
| Seema v Ashwani Kumar (2006) | Marriage; Compulsory registration of all marriages |
| Sarla Mudgal (1995) and Lily Thomas (2000) | Marriage; Conversion to remarry is bigamy |
| Revanasiddappa v Mallikarjun (2023) | Marriage; Children of void and voidable marriages share parents’ property |
| Lata Singh (2006); Shakti Vahini (2018); Shafin Jahan (2018) | Marriage; Free choice of spouse is protected by Article 21 |
| Supriyo v Union of India (2023) | Marriage; No fundamental right to marry; SMA not read down |
| Shamim Ara v State of UP (2002) | Muslim divorce; Talaq must be for cause, preceded by attempt at reconciliation and proved |
| Shayara Bano v Union of India (2017) | Muslim divorce; Instant triple talaq void (3:2) |
| Zohara Khatoon v Mohd. Ibrahim (1981) | Muslim divorce; Khula and the wife’s right to dissolution |
| N.G. Dastane v S. Dastane (1975) | Divorce; Cruelty: balance of probabilities |
| Shobha Rani v Madhukar Reddi (1988) | Divorce; Cruelty need not be intentional; dowry demand is cruelty |
| Samar Ghosh v Jaya Ghosh (2007) | Divorce; Mental cruelty illustrations; irretrievable breakdown considerations |
| Bipinchandra v Prabhawati (1957) | Divorce; Elements of desertion |
| Saroj Rani v Sudarshan Kumar (1984) | Divorce; Section 9 valid; Sareetha overruled in effect |
| Sureshta Devi v Om Prakash (1991) | Divorce; Consent in 13B must continue till decree |
| Amardeep Singh v Harveen Kaur (2017) | Divorce; 6-month period under 13B(2) is directory |
| Shilpa Sailesh v Varun Sreenivasan (2023) | Divorce; Article 142 divorce on irretrievable breakdown |
| Joseph Shine v Union of India (2018) | Divorce; Adultery decriminalised; still a civil ground |
| D. Velusamy v D. Patchaiammal (2010) | Live-in; Four conditions for ‘relationship in the nature of marriage’ |
| Indra Sarma v V.K.V. Sarma (2013) | Live-in; Guidelines; not every live-in is protected by DV Act |
| S. Khushboo v Kanniammal (2010) | Live-in; Live-in not an offence |
| Y. Narasimha Rao v Y. Venkata Lakshmi (1991) | Foreign decrees; Test for recognition of foreign matrimonial decrees |
| Satya v Teja Singh (1975) | Foreign decrees; Fraud on jurisdiction invalidates foreign divorce |
| Bai Tahira (1979); Fuzlunbi (1980); Shah Bano (1985) | Maintenance; Section 125 applies to Muslims; mahr is not a bar |
| Danial Latifi (2001) | Maintenance; 1986 Act valid; fair provision covers future |
| Mohd. Abdul Samad (2024) | Maintenance; Section 125 CrPC available to Muslim women in addition to 1986 and 2019 Acts |
| Rajnesh v Neha (2020) | Maintenance; Affidavit of assets; interim maintenance from application |
| Satish Chander Ahuja v Sneha Ahuja (2020) | Maintenance; ‘Shared household’ includes in-laws’ house where she lived |
| Abdul Kadir v Salima (1886) | Dower and stridhan; Dower is not consideration, but respect to the wife |
| Maina Bibi (1924); Kapore Chand (1953) | Dower and stridhan; Widow’s lien, no title |
| Tulasamma (1977) | Dower and stridhan; Section 14(1) HSA enlarges limited estate in lieu of maintenance |
| Pratibha Rani v Suraj Kumar (1985) | Dower and stridhan; Stridhan belongs solely to the wife |
| Shabnam Hashmi (2014) | Adoption and guardianship; JJ Act adoption open to all irrespective of religion |
| Lakshmi Kant Pandey (1984) | Adoption and guardianship; Inter-country adoption guidelines; child’s welfare |
| Gita Hariharan v RBI (1999) | Adoption and guardianship; Mother can be natural guardian even in father’s lifetime (‘after’ = ‘in absence of’) |
| ABC v State (NCT of Delhi) (2015) | Adoption and guardianship; Unwed mother as sole guardian |
| Imambandi v Mutsaddi (1918) | Adoption and guardianship; Mother has custody but is not guardian of property (Muslim law) |
| Gurupad v Hirabai (1978) | Succession; Notional partition |
| Prakash v Phulavati (2015); Danamma (2018); Vineeta Sharma (2020) | Succession; Evolution of daughters’ coparcenary rights; Vineeta settles |
| Arunachala Gounder v Ponnusamy (2022) | Succession; Daughter inherits father’s self-acquired property |
| John Vallamattom (2003) | Succession; Section 118 ISA unconstitutional |
| Venkatachala Iyengar v Thimmajamma (1959) | Will, gift, wakf; Proof of wills; suspicious circumstances |
| Mohammad Abdul Ghani v Fakhr Jahan (1922) | Will, gift, wakf; Muslim gift needs no registration |
| Hafeeza Bibi v Shaikh Farid (2011) | Will, gift, wakf; Oral Muslim gift valid with declaration, acceptance and delivery |
| In re: Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 (15 September 2025) | Will, gift, wakf; Interim order: key provisions stayed; whole Act not stayed |
| Shah Bano (1985); Sarla Mudgal (1995); John Vallamattom (2003) | UCC; Urged enactment of UCC |
| HMA 1955 | 2 (application), 3 (definitions), 4 (overriding), 5 (conditions), 7 (ceremonies), 8 (registration), 9 (RCR), 10 (JS), 11 (void), 12 (voidable), 13, 13A, 13B, 14 (one-year bar), 15, 16 (legitimacy), 17 (bigamy), 19 (jurisdiction), 21B, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 |
| SMA 1954 | 4, 5, 7, 15, 21, 21A, 27, 28, 29 |
| HSA 1956 | 2, 4, 6, 8–10, 14, 15–16, 25–29, 30 |
| HAMA 1956 | 5–17 (adoption), 18 (wife), 19 (daughter-in-law), 20 (children and parents), 21–23 |
| HMGA 1956 | 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13 |
| GWA 1890 | 4(1), 7, 17, 19, 25, 29 |
| DMMA 1939 | 2 (nine grounds), 4, 5 |
| Muslim Women Acts | 1986 Act: 3, 4, 5; 2019 Act: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| CrPC 125 → BNSS 144 | 125 CrPC = 144 BNSS; 126–128 = 145–147 |
| IPC → BNS | 494 → 82; 498A → 85 (cruelty defined in 86); 304B → 80; 406 → 316 |
| Evidence Act → BSA | 112 → 116; 114 → 119; 113B → 118; 108 → 111 |
| ISA 1925 | 33, 35 (Christians), 50–56 (Parsis), 57–58, 59, 61, 63, 65–66, 70, 118, 213, 218, 370 |
| TPA 1882 | 122–129 (gift) |
| Waqf Act 1995 | 3(r), 3(i), 36, 51, 83, 85; 2025 Amendment: 3C and the five-year rule |
| Foreign decrees | CPC 13, 14, 44A |
| Marriage age under HMA and SMA | 21 (man), 18 (woman) |
| Desertion (HMA) | 2 years |
| No cohabitation after JS or RCR decree | 1 year |
| Presumption of death | 7 years |
| Divorce petition bar after marriage | 1 year |
| 13B separation / second-motion window | 1 year / 6–18 months |
| Divorce Act 10A separation | 2 years |
| Interim maintenance Section 24 | decide within 60 days |
| Sapinda degrees | 5 (father’s line), 3 (mother’s line) |
| Void marriages clauses | 5(i), (iv), (v) |
| Natural guardian custody rule | child under 5 with mother |
| HMGA lease limit without permission | 5 years (and not beyond 1 year after majority) |
| Age gap in adoption | 21 years |
| Adoptee age | below 15 unless custom |
| Muslim will | one-third |
| Muslim hiba requirement | declaration, acceptance, delivery |
| Daughters’ coparcenary | 9 September 2005; partition cut-off 20 December 2004 |
| Class I heirs | 16 |
| Triple talaq judgment | 22 August 2017; 2019 Act: Section 4: up to 3 years |
| DMMA grounds | 9 clauses (absent husband 4 years; non-maintenance 2 years; imprisonment 7 years; marital obligation 3 years; insanity 2 years) |
| Waqf non-Muslim members in interim order | Central Council 4; State Boards 3 |
Where each fact is explained
Open the topic for the concept behind any line you cannot recall.
- 0 Exam Pattern, Recent Trends and How to Use These Notes
- 1 Sources and Schools of Family Law
- 2 Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage
- 3 Matrimonial Remedies: Divorce and Theories of Divorce
- 4 Changing Dimensions of Marriage: Live-in Relationships
- 5 Recognition of Foreign Decrees on Marriage and Divorce
- 6 Maintenance, Dower (Mahr) and Stridhan
- 7 Adoption, Guardianship and Acknowledgement
- 8 Succession and Inheritance
- 9 Will, Gift and Wakf
- 10 Uniform Civil Code (UCC)
- 11 Revision Toolkit: Cases, Numbers, Timelines and Traps
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