Issue of Return of ‘Streedhan’ Must Be Decided at Trial, Not by Independent Application Under Section 27 HMA: Allahabad High Court .
Under Section 27 HMA: Allahabad High Court In a sufficient ruling that protects the sanctity of due legal procedure and underscores the importance of fair trial, the Allahabad High Court has clarified that the issue of returning Streedhan —a woman’s rightful property given at the time of marriage— cannot be decided independently through an application under Section 27 of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955 . Instead, such matters must be decided as part of the full trial in matrimonial proceedings. The Case in Focus The judgment came in response to a petition where a wife sought the return of her Streedhan —jewellery, clothes, gifts and other articles she claimed to have brought into the marriage—by filing a separate application under Section 27 of the HMA . However, the family court entertained the application and ordered the return of those items, even though the main divorce proceedings were still pending . Challenging this interim relief, the husband ap...