FAMILY LAW IN INDIA: A CRITICAL STUDY
AUTHOR – IRA PAL* & MS. TANU AGARWAL**
* STUDENT AT AMITY LAW SCHOOL, AMITY UNIVERSITY, UTTAR PRADESH, LUCKNOW CAMPUS
** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT AMITY LAW SCHOOL, AMITY UNIVERSITY, UTTAR PRADESH, LUCKNOW CAMPUS
BEST CITATION – IRA PAL & MS. TANU AGARWAL, FAMILY LAW IN INDIA: A CRITICAL STUDY, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (10) OF 2025, PG. 845-8853, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
ABSTRACT
The institution of family occupies a central place in the Indian social and legal framework. Family Law, which regulates matters such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, succession, guardianship, and surrogacy, plays a pivotal role in shaping relationships and individual rights within this unit. The Indian legal landscape is marked by legal pluralism, where personal laws governed by religious and customary practices coexist with secular legal principles laid down by the Constitution of India.
This research paper, titled “A Critical Study of Family Law in India: Judicial Trends, Gender Justice, and Emerging Issues”, aims to examine the evolution, development, and contemporary challenges of Family Law within the Indian context. The paper seeks to critically analyze how the principles of equality, gender justice, human dignity, and child welfare are reconciled with personal laws rooted in tradition and religion.
The study is motivated by the continuing debates around the codification of personal laws, gender bias in existing legal frameworks, the need for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and the lack of adequate legal recognition for new forms of family and relationships, such as live-in relationships and LGBTQ+ families. It also evaluates the impact of landmark judgments and recent legislative reforms, such as the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005; the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019; the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021; and the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
Through its chapters, the research analyzes the feminist critique of personal laws and their impact on women’s rights in marriage, divorce, maintenance, and inheritance, and the application of the “best interest of the child” principle in guardianship and custody matters. It explores judicial recognition of live-in relationships and their legal implications, while also addressing the legal vacuum regarding LGBTQ+ family rights post-Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India. The paper further considers the emerging legal framework on surrogacy and assisted reproductive technologies and assesses judicial activism in shaping a gender-just family law regime in India. It also draws comparative insights from reforms in family law in other jurisdictions.
Employing a doctrinal, analytical, and comparative methodology, this paper draws on judicial pronouncements, statutes, secondary literature, and international human rights instruments to provide a holistic understanding of Family Law. The study further examines the role of the Indian judiciary in interpreting personal laws in harmony with the constitutional guarantees of equality (Article 14), non-discrimination (Article 15), freedom of religion (Article 25), and the right to life and dignity (Article 21).
In conclusion, this research finds that while progressive trends are visible in judicial interpretations of family law, much work remains to harmonize personal laws with the Indian Constitution’s vision of justice, equality, and secularism. The paper offers recommendations for legal reforms that can make Indian family law more inclusive, gender-sensitive, and responsive to the needs of modern society.
Keywords: women, child, maintenance, inheritance, child custody, and welfare, gender justice, and gender equality