Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956: All Sections Expl

In short: The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (Act No. 78 of 1956) covers adoption among Hindus and the maintenance of a wife, widowed daughter-in-law, children, aged parents and dependants. It was enacted on 21 December 1956. It has 30 section entries, listed below with a plain-English summary of each. Part of our Law Library.

हिंदी में: हिन्दू दत्तक तथा भरण-पोषण अधिनियम, 1956 की सभी धाराएँ नीचे सरल भाषा में दी गई हैं।

All sections of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956

Section	Title	What it covers
Preliminary
1	Short title and extent	Name of the Act and its extent.
2	Application of Act	Applies to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, and to certain children, but not to Scheduled Tribes unless notified.
3	Definitions	Defines custom, maintenance, minor and related terms.
4	Overriding effect of Act	The Act overrides earlier Hindu law and customs on adoption and maintenance.
Adoption
5	Adoptions to be regulated by this Chapter	Adoptions by Hindus must follow this Chapter; others are void.
6	Requisites of a valid adoption	The adopter must be capable and entitled, the giver capable, the child capable of being adopted, and the conditions met.
7	Capacity of a male Hindu to take in adoption	A Hindu man of sound mind and full age may adopt, with his wife’s consent if she is alive.
8	Capacity of a female Hindu to take in adoption	A Hindu woman of sound mind and full age may adopt; a married woman needs her husband’s consent.
9	Persons capable of giving in adoption	Only the father, mother or, in certain cases, the guardian with court permission can give a child in adoption.
10	Persons who may be adopted	The child must be a Hindu, not already adopted, unmarried and under fifteen, unless custom allows otherwise.
11	Other conditions for a valid adoption	Conditions on existing sons or daughters, age difference and actual giving and taking of the child.
12	Effects of adoption	The adopted child is treated as the child of the adoptive parents from the date of adoption.
13	Right of adoptive parents to dispose of their properties	Adoption does not stop adoptive parents from disposing of their property, subject to agreements.
14	Determination of adoptive mother in certain cases	Who is treated as the adoptive mother where a man has more than one wife or later marries.
15	Valid adoption not to be cancelled	A valid adoption cannot be cancelled, and the child cannot return to the birth family.
16	Presumption as to registered documents relating to adoptions	A registered adoption deed is presumed valid unless disproved.
17	Prohibition of certain payments	Receiving payment for giving a child in adoption is prohibited and punishable.
Maintenance
18	Maintenance of wife	A Hindu wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband and may live separately in certain situations without losing it.
19	Maintenance of widowed daughter-in-law	A widowed daughter-in-law may claim maintenance from her father-in-law in certain cases.
20	Maintenance of children and aged parents	A Hindu must maintain his or her children and aged or infirm parents, including an unmarried daughter until marriage.
21	Dependants defined	Lists the relatives of a deceased Hindu who count as dependants.
22	Maintenance of dependants	Heirs of a deceased Hindu must maintain the deceased’s dependants out of the estate.
23	Amount of maintenance	Factors the court considers in fixing maintenance, such as status, needs and the other party’s means.
24	Claimant to maintenance should be a Hindu	A person who stops being a Hindu by conversion cannot claim maintenance under the Act.
25	Amount of maintenance may be altered on change of circumstances	Maintenance may be changed when circumstances change.
26	Debts to have priority	Debts of the deceased are paid before maintenance claims.
27	Maintenance when to be a charge	Maintenance is a charge on the estate only if created by will, decree or agreement.
28	Effect of transfer of property on right to maintenance	A dependant may enforce maintenance against transferred property in certain cases.
Repeals and savings
29	[Repealed]	Repealed.
30	Savings	Adoptions made before the Act are not affected.

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Prepared by Adv. Mridul Jindal, Law Chambers of Mridul Jindal, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. Last updated 11 November 2026. Summaries are in plain English for general information and are not the text of the law or legal advice; always read the official text on India Code. Disclaimer.