TRW & Co · Family Law
Hindu Family Law Lawyer in Chittagong (Chattogram)
A Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong advises on the rules that actually govern Hindu families in Bangladesh: optional marriage registration under the 2012 Act, separate residence and maintenance under the 1946 Act, custody under the Guardians and Wards Act, and Dayabhaga inheritance. There is no general Hindu divorce, so getting the right remedy in Chattogram's Family Courts matters.
Key pointHindu personal law in Bangladesh gives no general right to divorce, and a notarised affidavit does not end a Hindu marriage; a wife's main remedy is separate residence and maintenance under the 1946 Act.
At a glance
Registration is optional
The Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012 lets marriages be registered, but an unregistered marriage solemnised by valid rites remains legally valid.
No general divorce
Hindu personal law as applied in Bangladesh has no general divorce procedure; notarised affidavits do not dissolve a Hindu marriage.
Separate residence and maintenance
The 1946 Act lets a Hindu wife live separately and claim maintenance on grounds such as cruelty, desertion or her husband's remarriage.
Same Family Courts
Chattogram Family Courts, including the e-Family Court, hear Hindu maintenance and custody cases under the Family Courts Act 2023.
Widows and farmland
A September 2020 High Court Division ruling held that a Hindu widow's rights extend to her husband's agricultural land as well.
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What Hindu family law covers in Bangladesh and in Chattogram
A Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong advises Hindu families on marriage, registration, separation, maintenance, custody, adoption, gifts and inheritance. In Bangladesh these matters are governed by Hindu personal law as applied by the courts, supplemented by a small number of statutes, rather than by a single code. The result is a body of law that differs sharply from the Muslim family law most online guidance describes.
Chattogram has long-established Hindu communities in the city and in upazilas such as Patiya, Boalkhali and Raozan, as well as many families with members in India, the UK, the Gulf and North America. Questions typically arise when a marriage breaks down, when a wife needs support, when a child's custody is contested, or when land passes on a death and family members disagree about who inherits.
The same Family Courts in Chattogram hear Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian cases on the matters within their jurisdiction. What changes is the substantive law the court applies, and that is where specialist advice matters.
The legal framework: personal law, statutes and courts
Sources of Hindu family law in Bangladesh
- Hindu personal law: classical Hindu law, with succession following the Dayabhaga school, as interpreted by the courts since the colonial period.
- Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012: creates a system of Hindu marriage registrars. Registration is optional, and an unregistered marriage solemnised by valid rites remains valid. The Dhaka Tribune has described the Act as a protective shield for women because a certificate is easy proof of marriage.
- Hindu Married Women's Right to Separate Residence and Maintenance Act 1946: gives a wife the right to live separately and claim maintenance on listed grounds.
- Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act 1856 and the Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act 1928: older statutes that still shape widows' and heirs' rights.
- Special Marriage Act 1872: a civil marriage route used in some interfaith situations, with its own conditions and consequences.
- General statutes: the Guardians and Wards Act 1890, the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2010, the Dowry Prohibition Act 2018 and the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 apply to all communities.
Family Courts and other forums in Chattogram
Under the Family Courts Act 2023, Family Courts decide five kinds of matter: dissolution of marriage, restitution of conjugal rights, dower, maintenance, and guardianship and custody of children. Hindu wives' maintenance and separate residence claims and custody disputes are heard there. Chattogram's e-Family Court, launched in late November 2025, allows online filing and remote attendance alongside paper filing.
Inheritance, partition, declarations of title and challenges to gifts or wills go to the civil courts, starting with the Assistant Judge or Senior Assistant Judge depending on value. Succession certificates and probate are handled by the District Judge's court. Writs and civil revisions go to the High Court Division in Dhaka.
Reform debate and what it means now
Hindu family law reform has been debated for years, particularly on divorce and daughters' inheritance. The Women's Affairs Reform Commission, which reported in April 2025, recommended a uniform family law for all religions, and its proposals provoked strong opposition. No general reform of Hindu family law has been enacted. Families should plan on the basis of the law as it stands, using registration, wills or gifts where appropriate, and seek advice before relying on reports of proposed changes.
Marriage and registration
A Hindu marriage is a sacrament solemnised by religious rites, and its validity depends on those rites rather than on any paper. That is why so many Hindu marriages in Chattogram have no certificate. The 2012 Act allows a marriage to be registered with a Hindu marriage registrar, either at the time or later, and a registration certificate then becomes the most reliable proof for passports, visas, bank nominations and court cases.
A Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong will usually recommend registration even years after the wedding, particularly where a spouse is going abroad, a child's documents need a parent's marital status, or the relationship is under strain. In a later dispute, proving an unregistered marriage depends on witnesses, photographs, invitation cards and the testimony of the priest, which become harder to gather over time.
Our article on Hindu marriage registration and separation explains the registrar process, and our court marriage practice covers civil and interfaith routes.
Separation, maintenance and the absence of divorce
Hindu personal law as applied in Bangladesh does not provide a general statutory right to divorce. Affidavits of "divorce" sworn before a notary are sometimes used, but they do not dissolve a Hindu marriage, and relying on them can create serious problems for a later marriage, inheritance or immigration application.
The main remedy for a wife is under the 1946 Act. A Hindu wife may live separately and claim maintenance where, for example, her husband suffers from a loathsome disease not contracted from her, is cruel to her, deserts her, marries again, converts to another religion, keeps a concubine, or there is another justifiable cause. The marriage itself continues.
Family Courts regularly grant these claims. In a 2024 civil revision, the High Court Division upheld a Family Court decree awarding a Hindu wife past maintenance and separate residence costs, modifying only an annual increase it found too harsh. That decision illustrates how courts assess amounts by reference to the parties' circumstances.
| Issue | Main law | Forum | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registering a marriage | Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012 | Hindu marriage registrar | Optional, but the best proof of marriage |
| Separate residence and maintenance | 1946 Act and Hindu personal law | Family Court | Available on listed grounds; marriage continues |
| Custody and guardianship | Guardians and Wards Act 1890; welfare of the child | Family Court | Welfare of the child is the paramount consideration |
| Domestic violence | Domestic Violence Act 2010 | Court under that Act | Protection, residence and compensation orders |
| Inheritance and partition | Dayabhaga law and related statutes | Civil courts; land offices for mutation | Heirs and shares differ from Muslim law |
| Interfaith or civil marriage | Special Marriage Act 1872 | Registrar under that Act; civil courts | Different succession and divorce consequences |
Wives often combine a maintenance claim with a custody application and, where there has been violence, an application under the 2010 Act. Our maintenance practice and domestic violence practice cover those routes.
Children: custody, guardianship and adoption
Custody disputes between Hindu parents are decided by the Family Court on the welfare of the child, with the Guardians and Wards Act 1890 providing the framework. Under Hindu law the father is traditionally the natural guardian, but courts look at the child's age, health, schooling, emotional ties and each parent's circumstances, and mothers are regularly given custody of young children. Our child custody practice covers the procedure.
Adoption is recognised under Hindu personal law in Bangladesh but is not governed by a modern statute, and the classical rules are restrictive. A Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong will check whether the ceremonies and conditions were met before the adopted child's inheritance rights are relied on, and will document the adoption carefully where it happens now.
Inheritance, women's property and land
Hindu succession in Bangladesh follows the Dayabhaga school. Sons are primary heirs; daughters' rights are more limited and depend on their circumstances; and a widow traditionally takes a limited estate in her husband's property for her lifetime, after which it passes to his heirs. Property a woman holds absolutely as stridhan follows separate rules.
The courts have been widening some of these rights. In September 2020 a High Court Division bench held that a Hindu widow's rights extend to her husband's agricultural land as well as non-agricultural property, rejecting the narrower reading a Khulna court had applied. The limited nature of the widow's estate remains important when she wants to sell or gift land.
Many Chattogram estates also involve land long recorded in a deceased person's name, property affected by the former vested property lists, and relatives abroad. Our inheritance practice, partition suit practice and the article on Hindu inheritance law go further.
Planning ahead with gifts and wills
Because the default Dayabhaga rules may not match what a family wants, planning during a parent's lifetime is often the most effective protection for daughters and widows. A registered gift deed transfers property immediately, while a will takes effect on death and can be challenged by disappointed heirs if it is poorly drafted or witnessed. A Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong will check what the owner can lawfully transfer, especially ancestral or limited-estate property, and draft documents that fit both Hindu law and the registration rules.
Families should also keep land records current. Where a parent has died and the land is still recorded in his name, mutation into the heirs' names under the correct Hindu shares, and payment of land development tax, prevents later disputes and makes any sale or bank mortgage much easier. A Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong can coordinate the heirship papers, the mutation application and any partition agreement so that each step reflects the same set of shares.
Most Hindu family disputes in Chattogram turn less on what the law says than on what the family can prove: the marriage, the heirs and the land records.
Step by step: bringing a Hindu family case in Chattogram
- Identify the issue and the law. Decide whether the matter is maintenance, separate residence, custody, protection from violence, registration or inheritance, and which statute or personal law rule applies.
- Prove the marriage and the family. Gather the registration certificate if any, wedding photographs, invitation cards, witnesses' details, NID and birth certificates of children.
- Send a written demand where useful. A lawyer's notice setting out the claim often brings the other side to negotiate and records the date the demand was made.
- File in the right forum. Family matters go to the Family Court with territorial jurisdiction, physically or through the e-Family Court; inheritance and partition go to the civil courts.
- Attend reconciliation. Family Courts attempt reconciliation before evidence, and many maintenance disputes settle at that stage on recorded terms.
- Evidence and decree. If there is no settlement, witnesses are examined and the court decides, with interim orders available in urgent maintenance and custody matters.
- Enforce or appeal. Unpaid maintenance is enforced through the Family Court; appeals go to a court of District Judge rank, with further recourse to the High Court Division.
Documents to assemble
- marriage registration certificate, or evidence of the ceremony and witnesses;
- NID cards, passports and birth certificates of spouses and children;
- evidence of income and assets of the husband or parent from whom maintenance is claimed;
- school, medical and residence records for children in custody cases;
- evidence of cruelty, desertion or a second marriage: messages, medical reports, police general diaries, witnesses;
- for inheritance: death certificates, heirship or warish certificates, khatians, deeds, mutation records and land development tax receipts;
- powers of attorney, properly attested, for family members abroad.
If your marriage was never registered, consider registering it now while both spouses and the witnesses are available. A registration certificate takes minutes to produce in court; proving an old, unregistered ceremony can take several hearings.
Risks and common mistakes
Treating a notarised affidavit as a divorce
Couples sometimes sign an affidavit before a notary declaring the marriage over and then remarry. Under Hindu personal law as applied in Bangladesh, such an affidavit does not dissolve the marriage. A second marriage can then give rise to criminal complaints, maintenance claims and disputed inheritance for the children of both relationships. Where a marriage has broken down, a Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong will explain the options that do exist, including separate residence and maintenance, and the consequences of a civil route.
Leaving the marriage unregistered
Because registration is optional, many wives have no documentary proof of marriage. When a husband denies the marriage, or dies and relatives dispute the widow's status, the wife must prove the ceremony through witnesses and circumstantial evidence. Registration can be done after the event, and doing it while relations are good avoids that burden. Families sending a spouse abroad should register before visa applications are made.
Assuming Muslim inheritance rules apply
Online calculators and many local advisers work from Muslim Faraiz shares. Hindu estates follow the Dayabhaga school, which produces different heirs and shares and gives widows a limited estate. Deeds, mutations and partitions based on the wrong rules are open to challenge. Check the applicable law before preparing a heirship certificate, applying for mutation or signing a family settlement.
Selling land held as a widow's estate without advice
A widow's limited estate can generally be alienated only for legal necessity or with the consent of the reversionary heirs, subject to the court's view of the facts. Buyers who pay without checking risk a suit by the heirs after the widow's death. Sellers and buyers should obtain advice on the title chain and, where needed, document necessity or the heirs' consent in the deed.
Ignoring the vested property history
Some Hindu-owned land in Chattogram was placed on the former enemy and vested property lists. The Vested Property Return Act 2001 created a process for return, and many claims have been resolved, but title searches still need to check whether a plot was listed and how the listing was dealt with. Unresolved history can derail a sale, a partition or a bank mortgage.
Families abroad and cross-border issues
Hindu families from Chattogram often have members in India, the UK, the US, Canada and the Gulf. A spouse abroad can usually participate in a Family Court case through a lawyer, and the e-Family Court allows some remote attendance, but evidence may still need to be given in person or by an arranged method. Heirs abroad can act through a power of attorney attested at a Bangladesh mission and registered locally.
Foreign courts and immigration authorities often ask for proof of a Hindu marriage, or of the absence of a divorce, in a form they recognise. A Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong can obtain registration and certified copies and explain the Bangladeshi position in a legal opinion. TRW & Co's offices in Dhaka, Singapore, Dubai and London help coordinate documents signed abroad and advice on how foreign proceedings interact with Bangladeshi law.
How TRW & Co helps as your Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong
We act from our office at Room 4022, Annex 2, District and Sessions Judge Court Building, Court Hill (Porir Pahar), Kotwali, Chattogram 4000. The firm's Bangladesh advocates appear in the Chattogram Family Courts, the civil courts, the District Judge's court and the High Court Division.
Marriage and registration
We advise on registering existing and new marriages, obtain certified copies, and prepare evidence of unregistered marriages for courts and embassies.
Maintenance and separation
We bring and defend claims under the 1946 Act in the Family Court, seek interim maintenance, and enforce decrees that are not paid.
Children
We act in custody and guardianship cases under the Guardians and Wards Act, including interim custody, visitation and travel with children.
Inheritance and land
We advise on Dayabhaga shares, widows' estates, partition, mutation and title, and prepare family settlements, gifts and wills that reflect the law.
See also our family law practice, the Chattogram office hub and all practices.
Checklist for Hindu families
- Register your marriage, even if it took place years ago.
- Keep NID, birth and marriage records for every family member together.
- Do not rely on a notarised affidavit as a divorce.
- Check Dayabhaga shares before any heirship certificate, mutation or partition.
- Check land for vested property history before buying or selling.
- Use a will or a registered gift where you want property to pass differently.
- Arrange attested powers of attorney for relatives abroad.
To speak to a Hindu family law lawyer in Chittagong in confidence, contact our Chattogram office, email info@trw.co or call +880 1779 127165.
Frequently asked questions
01Can Hindus get a divorce in Bangladesh?
Hindu personal law as applied in Bangladesh does not provide a general right to divorce, and there is no statute creating one. A notarised affidavit of divorce does not dissolve a Hindu marriage. A wife can, however, live separately and claim maintenance under the Hindu Married Women's Right to Separate Residence and Maintenance Act 1946. Couples considering a civil route should take advice on the Special Marriage Act and its consequences first.
02Is registration of a Hindu marriage compulsory?
No. The Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012 created a registration system, but registration is optional and an unregistered marriage solemnised by valid rites remains valid. Registration is still strongly advisable because the certificate is the easiest proof of marriage for passports, visas, maintenance claims and inheritance. A marriage can be registered after the ceremony, including years later.
03On what grounds can a Hindu wife claim separate residence and maintenance?
Under the 1946 Act, grounds include the husband suffering from a loathsome disease not contracted from her, cruelty that makes it unsafe or undesirable to live with him, desertion, his remarriage, conversion to another religion, keeping a concubine, or any other justifiable cause. The claim is brought in the Family Court. The marriage continues while she lives separately and receives maintenance.
04Which court hears Hindu family cases in Chattogram?
Maintenance, separate residence and custody claims go to the Family Courts under the Family Courts Act 2023, which serve every community. Chattogram's e-Family Court allows online filing alongside paper filing. Inheritance, partition and title disputes go to the civil courts, succession certificates to the District Judge's court, and writs and civil revisions to the High Court Division.
05Do Hindu daughters inherit from their father in Bangladesh?
Hindu succession follows the Dayabhaga school, under which sons are primary heirs and daughters' rights are more limited and depend on their circumstances. A father who wants a daughter to receive property can use a registered gift or a will. Because the rules differ greatly from Muslim inheritance, heirship certificates and mutations should be checked against Dayabhaga law before land is divided or sold.
06Does a Hindu widow inherit her husband's agricultural land?
In September 2020 a High Court Division bench held that a Hindu widow's rights extend to her husband's agricultural land as well as non-agricultural property. A widow traditionally takes a limited estate for her lifetime, so selling or gifting that land can be restricted. Buyers and heirs should take advice on the title chain before a transfer.
07Can I bring a case from abroad?
Usually yes. A spouse or heir abroad can instruct a lawyer in Chattogram, and a power of attorney attested at a Bangladesh mission and registered locally can authorise a relative to act on property matters. The e-Family Court allows some remote attendance. You may still need to give evidence, so plan timing with your lawyer.
Sources and official materials
- Family Courts Act 2023 — Family Court jurisdiction over maintenance, custody and related matters
- Guardians and Wards Act 1890 — Custody and guardianship of minors
- e-Family Court (Bangladesh Judiciary) — Online filing and remote hearings in Chattogram
- High Court Division: Civil Revision No. 3859 of 2022 — 2024 decision on a Hindu wife's maintenance and separate residence
- TBS: Hindu widows have the right to their husband's agricultural land (2020) — Report of the High Court Division ruling
- Dhaka Tribune: Hindu Marriage Registration Act — How the 2012 Act protects women
General information only, current as at 2 November 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an advocate–client relationship. It reflects the law of Bangladesh unless stated otherwise, and the law, court practice and official fees change frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.
