Interfaith Marriage in Bangladesh 2026: Special Marriage Act, Conversion and Women’s Property Rights

Interfaith marriage Bangladesh law in 2026: the framework

Interfaith marriage Bangladesh law permits is narrower than many couples expect. There is no general civil marriage statute that lets two people of different religions marry while each keeps their faith. Marriage is governed by the personal law of the parties, and the only civil route, the Special Marriage Act 1872, is built around a declaration about religion that has consequences for status, succession and family property long after the wedding day.

This guide explains every route that matters in 2026: the Special Marriage Act and its renunciation declaration, notice and objection procedure; the Muslim law rule on marriage with a kitabiyya; conversion and its legal effects; the Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012 and the Christian Marriage Act 1872; foreign spouses; and the religion, custody and inheritance of children. Because the choice of route decides a woman's property position, it also sets out property rights for women in Bangladesh under Muslim, Hindu and Christian law, including dower, stridhan, the Hindu woman's limited estate, the 2025 reform proposals and joint titling of khas land.

Summary: Bangladesh has no secular marriage law for couples who wish to keep different religions. A Muslim man may marry a Christian or Jewish woman under Muslim law; otherwise an interfaith couple must either convert or marry under the Special Marriage Act 1872, which is open only to people who profess none of the listed religions or to Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jaina couples. Each route fixes the law that will later govern divorce, inheritance and the property rights of the wife and children.

Key point: In August 2025 a three-judge bench of the High Court Division confirmed that a Muslim is excluded from the Special Marriage Act 1872, held that a Muslim–Hindu marriage registered under it was not a lawful marriage, and refused to confirm a divorce decree granted on that basis. Couples who keep their religions and sign the Act's forms are not safely married.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

How interfaith marriage Bangladesh law works: personal law decides

Family law in Bangladesh is religion-based. Whether a marriage is valid, how it ends and who inherits are questions answered by the personal law of the parties: Muslim law for Muslims, uncodified Dayabhaga Hindu law for Hindus and, largely, Buddhists, and a mix of statute and church practice for Christians. As a Supreme Court advocate summarised it in 2019, family laws including marriage are predominantly regulated by the religious laws of the individuals concerned.[2]

That structure creates the central difficulty for interfaith marriage Bangladesh couples face. Each personal law has its own rules on whom a believer may marry, those rules rarely line up, and statute fills only part of the gap.

The four practical routes

• A Muslim man and a Christian or Jewish woman: may marry under Muslim law without either party converting.[3] [4]
• Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jaina couples in any combination: may marry under the Special Marriage Act 1872 while keeping their religions.[1]
• Couples where at least one party is Christian: must marry in the form required by the Christian Marriage Act 1872.[7]
• Every other combination, including Muslim and Hindu: requires either conversion of one party or a declaration by both that they profess none of the listed religions, followed by a Special Marriage Act marriage.[2] [4]

Why the choice is not just a formality

The route chosen fixes the law that will later govern divorce, maintenance, the children's inheritance and property rights for women in the marriage. A couple who pick the wrong route can find, years later, that their marriage is not recognised or that a spouse or child has been excluded from family property. Registration mechanics are covered in our guide to marriage registration in Bangladesh; this article focuses on the substantive consequences.

The Special Marriage Act 1872: who can use it

The Special Marriage Act 1872 is the only civil form of marriage in Bangladesh. Its preamble describes its purpose as providing a form of marriage for persons who do not profess the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion, and for persons who profess the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion.[1]

The two limbs of section 2

Section 2 allows a marriage in two situations only. The first is between persons neither of whom professes any of the eight listed religions. The second is between persons each of whom professes one of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religions.[1] A Hindu marrying a Buddhist can therefore use the Act without changing faith. A Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or a Parsi cannot use the second limb at all.

Section 2 then sets the conditions: neither party may have a living spouse, a party under 21 needs the consent of a father or guardian, and the parties must not fall within prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity under any law to which either is subject.[1] The age figures in the 1872 text are overtaken in practice by the Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017, discussed in our marriage registration guide.

The renunciation declaration

For a Muslim–Hindu or Christian–Hindu couple, the only way into the Act is the first limb. Before the marriage, the parties sign a declaration in the form set out in the Second Schedule. Its wording requires each to state, in substance, that they do not profess the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion.[2] Commentators describe this as both parties declaring themselves non-believers for legal purposes.[2] [3]

The declaration is not a formality. Section 21 makes any person who signs or attests a declaration or certificate under the Act containing a statement they know or believe to be false guilty of the offence described in section 199 of the Penal Code.[1] A couple who intend to continue practising their faiths should understand that the declaration they sign states the opposite, and that its truth can later be tested in court.

The 2025 High Court Division reference

The risk is no longer theoretical. In Mahmudur Rahman v Nondita Sarker, Civil Reference No. 02 of 2025, decided on 21 August 2025, a three-judge bench of the High Court Division considered a divorce decree under the Divorce Act 1869 dissolving a marriage between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman solemnised under the Special Marriage Act. The court described the parties as devout believers in their respective religions and held that a Muslim man or woman is excluded from the purview of the Act.[4]

Because the marriage was not lawfully solemnised under the Act, the court held the divorce suit misconceived, found no scope for cancelling a marriage that had no legal existence, and refused to confirm the decree. It also observed that no other law in Bangladesh provides for marriage between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman.[4] The practical lesson for interfaith marriage Bangladesh couples is plain: a Special Marriage Act certificate protects only a couple who genuinely fall within section 2.

Special Marriage Act procedure: Registrar, notice and objections

The Registrar

Under section 3, the Government appoints Registrars of Marriages under Act III of 1872, by name or by office, for defined areas, and the area for which a Registrar is appointed is that Registrar's district.[1] Couples should confirm locally which officer currently holds the appointment, because availability varies by district.

The fourteen-day notice

Section 4 requires one of the parties to give written notice to the Registrar of a district in which at least one of them has resided for fourteen days before the notice is given. Under section 5 the Registrar files the notice and copies it into the Marriage Notice Book, which is open to inspection by anyone, without fee, at all reasonable times.[1] Section 6 allows the marriage to be solemnised fourteen days after notice unless an objection has been made.[1]

Objections and declaratory suits

Any person may object, but only on the ground that the marriage would breach one of the conditions in section 2. The Registrar records the objection in writing and must then wait fourteen days. Within that period the objector may file a suit in a civil court for a declaration that the marriage would contravene section 2, and if a certificate of filing is lodged with the Registrar the marriage cannot proceed until the suit and any appeal are decided.[1]

Section 9 lets the court fine an objector whose objection was not reasonable and bona fide.[1] A family objection that the parties still profess their religions goes to the heart of the first limb of section 2, so couples should expect that issue to be examined.

Declaration, solemnisation and certificate

Under section 10 the parties and three witnesses sign the declaration in the Registrar's presence, with a father or guardian also signing for a party under 21 who is not a widow. Section 11 allows the marriage to be solemnised in any form, provided each party says to the other, before the Registrar and witnesses, that they take the other as lawful wife or husband. Section 13 requires the Registrar to enter a certificate in the Marriage Certificate Book, signed by the parties and witnesses, and section 14 makes that book admissible as evidence of its contents.[1]

Legal effects of a Special Marriage Act marriage

A Special Marriage Act marriage changes the legal framework that applies to the couple for life.

Strict monogamy and divorce under the Divorce Act

Section 15 makes a marriage under the Act void if either party is already married and treats the person as having committed bigamy under the Penal Code. Section 16 applies the bigamy penalties to a person married under the Act who marries again during the spouse's lifetime, whatever religion that person professes at the time of the second marriage.[1] Conversion after the wedding does not unlock a second marriage. Section 17 applies the Divorce Act 1869, so the marriage can be dissolved only by a court decree on the grounds that Act provides.[1]

Severance and succession under the Succession Act 1925

For a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina party, section 22 provides that marriage under the Act severs that person from any undivided family. Section 24 provides that succession to the property of such a person, and to the property of the children of the marriage, is regulated by the Succession Act 1925.[1] The Dayabhaga rules that would otherwise apply to the couple's own estates fall away and are replaced by the statutory scheme in the Succession Act.

For couples who marry under the first limb after declaring no religion, there is no religious personal law left to apply to their own estates, and the general law in the Succession Act is the natural default. Either way, interfaith marriage Bangladesh couples should plan their estates on the footing that the Succession Act, not Muslim or Hindu law, will govern their own property and that of their children.

Adoption

Section 25 provides that a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina who marries under the Act has no right of adoption, while section 26 allows that person's father, if he has no other son living, to adopt another son under his own personal law.[1]

Inheritance from the wider family

Section 23 gives a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina who marries under the Act the same succession rights and disabilities as a person to whom the Caste Disabilities Removal Act 1850 applies.[1] That 1850 Act protected people from losing inheritance through a change of religion, but the Bangladesh Laws (Revision and Declaration) Act 1973 repealed it, and the Appellate Division has held that it has no application in Bangladesh.[6] The protection section 23 was designed to borrow is therefore uncertain, and a party who renounces Hinduism to marry should assume a real risk of exclusion from Hindu relatives' estates unless they are provided for by will.

Muslim law and marriage with a kitabiyya

Muslim personal law allows a Muslim man to marry a kitabiyya, meaning a woman who follows a revealed scripture, which in Bangladesh practice means a Christian or Jewish woman.[3] The High Court Division noted the same rule in its 2025 reference.[4] The marriage is contracted and registered with a Nikah Registrar in the ordinary way, with a kabinnama recording the dower, and neither party needs to convert.

The limits of the rule

The permission is one-directional. A Muslim woman cannot contract a valid marriage under Muslim law with a Christian or Jewish man.[3] Nor does the rule extend to followers of religions that Muslim law does not classify as scriptural: marriage with Hindus, for example, is not permitted under Islamic law without conversion.[2] For these couples the choice is conversion of one party or the Special Marriage Act's first limb.

The overlap with the Christian Marriage Act

Section 4 of the Christian Marriage Act 1872 provides that every marriage between persons one or both of whom is a Christian must be solemnised in accordance with section 5, and that a marriage solemnised otherwise is void.[7] A Muslim–Christian marriage therefore sits at the intersection of two systems: valid under Muslim law, but subject to a Christian Marriage Act provision that speaks in mandatory terms. Couples in this position, particularly those who will rely on the marriage abroad, should take advice on solemnising the marriage in a form that satisfies both.

Dower and the kitabiyya wife

A kitabiyya wife married under Muslim law has the same right to dower as a Muslim wife, and the same protections under the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, including the rule that dower is payable on demand where the kabinnama does not specify how it is to be paid.[11] Her inheritance position under Muslim law should be checked separately before the marriage, and in any event she is best protected during the marriage by a fully documented dower, registered gifts and property held in her own name.

Conversion and its legal effects

Many interfaith couples resolve the question by conversion, most often to Islam so that the marriage can be contracted under Muslim law.[2] Conversion is a matter of conscience, but it has legal consequences.

Conversion before marriage

Once both parties share a religion, the marriage follows that religion's personal law in every respect: formation, registration, divorce, maintenance and inheritance. A convert to Islam who marries a Muslim is married under Muslim law, and the Special Marriage Act plays no part.[2] Converts commonly swear an affidavit of conversion before a notary or magistrate; keep the original with the marriage papers, because registrars, foreign embassies and courts will ask for it.

Effect on inheritance from the convert's family

Under the Dayabhaga law applied in Bangladesh, a Hindu who converts to another religion is generally disqualified from inheriting from Hindu relatives, subject to limited exceptions such as property left by a valid will or rights that had already vested before the conversion.[6] With the 1850 Act treated as inapplicable, this exclusion is, in the words of one senior judicial officer writing in 2025, a legally and socially significant reality.[6] Families who wish a converting son or daughter to share in family property should use a will or a registered gift.

Conversion during marriage

For Muslim marriages, section 4 of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 provides that a married Muslim woman's renunciation of Islam, or conversion to another faith, does not by itself dissolve her marriage, although she may then seek a decree on any of the statutory grounds. The section does not apply to a woman who converted to Islam and later returns to her former faith.[5] Section 5 preserves her right to dower on dissolution.[5]

For marriages under the Special Marriage Act, conversion after the wedding changes nothing about the marriage itself: the Divorce Act continues to apply and section 16 keeps the bigamy penalties in place whatever religion a spouse later professes.[1] Conversion cannot be used to escape the monogamy of a civil marriage.

Hindu, Christian and Buddhist couples: the other marriage statutes

Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012

The Hindu Marriage Registration Act 2012 provides a system for registering Hindu marriages solemnised according to Hindu rites and protecting documentary proof of them. It is a registration statute: it does not create a route for a Hindu to marry a non-Hindu, introduce divorce or alter succession. A Hindu–Buddhist, Hindu–Sikh or Hindu–Jaina couple who wish to marry across those lines without converting therefore use the Special Marriage Act's second limb, with the succession consequences in section 24.[1] The registration process itself is covered in our marriage registration guide.

Christian Marriage Act 1872

The Christian Marriage Act 1872 governs every marriage in which one or both parties is Christian. Section 5 lists who may solemnise: a person who has received episcopal ordination, a Church of Scotland clergyman, a minister of religion licensed under the Act, a Marriage Registrar appointed under the Act, or a person licensed to grant certificates of marriage between Native Christians.[7] Section 27 requires registration of marriages involving a Christian, subject to exceptions for certain Native Christian marriages, which are recorded in separate registers under Part VI.[7]

Because section 4 applies whenever one party is Christian, a Christian marrying a Hindu or Buddhist partner is within the Christian Marriage Act rather than the Special Marriage Act. The marriage can be solemnised before a licensed minister or a Marriage Registrar, after the notice procedure the Act requires, without either party declaring that they have no religion.[7] Divorce for such marriages is by court decree under the Divorce Act 1869.

Foreign spouses and interfaith marriage Bangladesh rules

There is no separate marriage statute for foreigners. The route is decided by religion exactly as for two citizens: a foreign Christian woman marrying a Bangladeshi Muslim man may marry under Muslim law, a foreign Hindu or Buddhist marrying a Bangladeshi Hindu may use the Special Marriage Act's second limb, and a foreign national who professes none of the listed religions can marry a Bangladeshi of no professed religion under the first limb.[1] [3]

Two practical points apply where one spouse is foreign. First, the Special Marriage Act's residence requirement means at least one party must have lived in the Registrar's district for fourteen days before notice is given, so a foreign party arriving for a short visit should plan the timetable around the notice and the fourteen-day waiting period.[1] Second, the receiving country will scrutinise the marriage certificate, so the form chosen must be one that is valid in Bangladesh; the 2025 High Court Division reference shows that a certificate obtained outside section 2 may not be.[4]

A foreign spouse's long-term stay then depends on the visa framework, not marriage law. Our guide to the Bangladesh residence permit covers the spouse visa, evidence of marriage and the No Visa Required endorsement, and our cross-border family matters practice advises on marriages that will be relied on in more than one country.

Children of interfaith marriages: religion, custody and inheritance

Children raise the questions interfaith marriage Bangladesh couples most often leave unresolved at the time of marriage.

Religion of the children

No statute fixes the religion of a child of an interfaith marriage. Where the marriage is under the Special Marriage Act, the law that governs the children's own estates is fixed by section 24: succession to the property of the issue of the marriage is regulated by the Succession Act 1925.[1] Section 18 also provides that children of a Special Marriage Act marriage who themselves marry under the Act are subject to their father's law on prohibited degrees.[1]

Custody and guardianship

When an interfaith marriage breaks down, custody and guardianship are decided by the family courts and, for guardianship, under the Guardians and Wards Act 1890, with the welfare of the child as the controlling consideration. In an interfaith family the child's religious upbringing is often contested, and the court's focus remains the child's best interests rather than either parent's faith. Our detailed guide to child custody and guardianship in Bangladesh explains how those principles are applied.

Inheritance by the children

Children inherit from each parent under the law that governs that parent's estate. For a Muslim father married to a kitabiyya, the children are his heirs under Muslim law. For parents married under the Special Marriage Act, the Succession Act governs, and under it sons and daughters inherit equally.[13] Problems arise with grandparents' estates, which follow the grandparents' own personal law and may exclude a child, or a parent, of a different religion.[6]

Property rights for women in Bangladesh

For a woman entering an interfaith marriage Bangladesh law recognises, the route chosen decides which property rules will protect her. Property rights for women in Bangladesh are not a single code: they are assembled from the Constitution, personal law, a handful of statutes and land administration policy. Women's ownership remains low in practice; a 2014 study cited in 2025 found that about 70 per cent of Bangladeshi women owned no property.[8]

Constitutional equality under Article 28

Article 28(1) prohibits the State from discriminating against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and Article 28(2) provides that women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and of public life. Article 28(4) allows the State to make special provision in favour of women or children.[14] Because Article 28(2) is framed around the State and public life, it has not been treated as displacing personal inheritance law in the private sphere.[13] The Appellate Division has nonetheless drawn on the equality provisions when interpreting uncodified Hindu law in a woman's favour.[10]

Inheritance shares under Muslim, Hindu and Christian law

Under Muslim law, women are fixed-share heirs, but a daughter generally receives half the share of a son.[8] The full table of shares for wives, mothers, daughters and sisters is set out in our guide to the Muslim inheritance law framework. Under Hindu law, daughters' rights are considerably more restricted than sons'.[8] Christian succession under the Succession Act 1925 gives sons and daughters equal shares.[13] Our guide to inheritance law in Bangladesh covers the rules for each community and how heirship is proved.

Dower as the wife's own property

For a woman married under Muslim law, including a kitabiyya, dower is the most important asset the marriage itself creates. It belongs to her, not to her family. Section 10 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 provides that where the kabinnama does not specify the mode of payment, the entire dower is payable on demand, and section 6(5) requires a husband who takes a further wife without permission to pay the existing wife's whole dower, prompt or deferred, immediately, recoverable as arrears of land revenue.[11] The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 preserves the right to dower on dissolution.[5] Enforcement is explained in our guide to dower recovery in Bangladesh.

Stridhan: property a Hindu woman owns absolutely

Hindu law recognises stridhan, the property a woman holds as her own, including gifts from relatives and property acquired in certain other ways. In Shishubar Dhali v Chitta Ranjan Mondol, Civil Appeal No. 55 of 2003, the Appellate Division held that a daughter inherits her mother's stridhan absolutely, like a son, and that it does not become a limited estate in her hands; the court drew on the constitutional equality guarantees in reaching that conclusion.[10] For Hindu women, documenting which property is stridhan is the single most effective protection against later claims by the husband's family.

The Hindu woman's limited estate

Under section 3 of the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act 1937, a Hindu widow inherits a share in her husband's estate, but section 3(3) makes her interest the limited interest known as a Hindu woman's estate, while giving her the same right as a male owner to claim partition.[9] She can use and enjoy the property, but her power to sell it is restricted and, on her death, it passes to her husband's heirs rather than her own. Buyers dealing with a Hindu widow should therefore check the basis of her title, and families who want her to own outright should give the property by registered gift or by will.

Reform proposals: the Women's Affairs Reform Commission

The most significant recent proposal came from the Women's Affairs Reform Commission, which submitted its report to the then Chief Adviser on 19 April 2025. It recommended a uniform family law giving women of all religions equal rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance and maintenance, to be introduced first as an optional measure available to all communities.[8] The proposals were widely debated, with support from women's rights organisations and strong opposition from some religious groups.

As at October 2026, no uniform or optional family code has been enacted, and the personal law rules described in this guide continue to apply. Any change to property rights for women in inheritance, or to the Hindu woman's limited estate, would require legislation by Parliament, and families planning now should work within the existing law, using wills, registered gifts and careful documentation of dower and stridhan.

Land registration in women's names

There is no national reduction in registration fees that applies simply because a buyer or donee is a woman. The Registration Act 1908 does, however, make family transfers cheap. Section 78A fixes the registration fee for a declaration of heba under Muslim law at Tk 100, whatever the value of the property, where it is made between spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, or full siblings, and extends the same Tk 100 fee to gifts between those relatives under Hindu, Christian and Buddhist personal law where that law permits the gift.[12]

This is one of the simplest ways to strengthen property rights for women within a family: a husband or father who wants a wife or daughter to own property outright can transfer it by registered gift at minimal registration cost. For interfaith couples whose rights of inheritance from each other are uncertain, this is often the most important estate-planning tool available. Our guide to heba, will and gift registration sets out the formalities.

Joint titling of khas land

Government khas land distributed to landless families is one area where policy deliberately advances property rights for women by putting them on the title. The Agricultural Khas Land Management and Settlement Policy 1997 provides for joint ownership by spouses, and settlement documents bear both spouses' names, with the wife's name first.[13] A wife named on a khas settlement holds a recorded interest in her own right, which matters on desertion, divorce or the husband's death. Our guide to khas land in Bangladesh explains eligibility and disputes.

Step-by-step: planning an interfaith marriage in Bangladesh

The legal analysis should come before the wedding date is fixed. The sequence below reflects how TRW advises couples and families on interfaith marriage Bangladesh questions.

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Make sure names, dates of birth and passport numbers match exactly across every document.

Choosing the right route: a comparison

The table below compares the main routes. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

No route to interfaith marriage Bangladesh law offers is right for every couple. A Muslim–Christian couple may value the continuity of Muslim law; a Hindu–Buddhist couple may prefer the Special Marriage Act because neither party needs to give up their faith; a Muslim–Hindu couple faces a real choice between conversion and a declaration of no religion, each with lasting consequences. Our Islamic family law practice and inheritance and succession planning practice advise on both the marriage and the estate plan that should accompany it.

Interfaith marriage Bangladesh mistakes to avoid

• Signing a declaration you do not mean: a false statement in a Special Marriage Act declaration is a criminal offence, and it can undermine the marriage itself.[1]
• Assuming a certificate guarantees validity: the 2025 High Court Division reference refused to confirm a divorce because a Muslim–Hindu marriage registered under the Act was not lawful.[4]
• Ignoring the objection stage: a family objection followed by a declaratory suit can delay the marriage until the case and any appeal are decided.[1]
• Forgetting succession: a Special Marriage Act marriage moves the couple's estates to the Succession Act, and conversion can cut a spouse out of family inheritance.[1] [6]
• Leaving the wife unprotected: where inheritance between spouses is uncertain, dower, registered gifts and property in the wife's own name are essential.

If you are planning an interfaith marriage, or dealing with the consequences of one, the earlier the legal position is mapped, the more options remain open. Contact TRW to discuss your situation in confidence.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Muslim and a Hindu marry in Bangladesh without converting?

Not while both keep their religions. Muslim law does not permit the marriage, and the High Court Division held in 2025 that a Muslim is excluded from the Special Marriage Act 1872. The options are conversion of one party, or a declaration by both that they profess none of the listed religions followed by a Special Marriage Act marriage.[2] [4]

Can a Muslim man marry a Christian woman in Bangladesh?

Yes. Muslim law allows a Muslim man to marry a Christian or Jewish woman without conversion, and the marriage is registered with a Nikah Registrar. Because the Christian Marriage Act 1872 also speaks to marriages involving a Christian, take advice on the form of solemnisation.[3] [7]

Can a Muslim woman marry a Christian man under Muslim law?

No. The permission to marry a person of a scriptural religion extends only to Muslim men. A Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man must use conversion or the Special Marriage Act's first limb.[3]

What does the Special Marriage Act declaration require?

For couples outside the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jaina limb, each party declares that they do not profess the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion. The parties and three witnesses sign before the Registrar, and a false statement is an offence.[1] [2]

How long does a Special Marriage Act marriage take?

At least one party must have lived in the Registrar's district for fourteen days before giving notice, and the marriage can take place fourteen days after notice if no objection is made. An objection followed by a court suit can delay it until the case is decided.[1]

Who inherits from a couple married under the Special Marriage Act?

For a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina who marries under the Act, succession to that person's property and to the property of the children is governed by the Succession Act 1925, under which sons and daughters share equally.[1] [13]

Does conversion to Islam end a Hindu's inheritance rights?

Generally, yes, as regards inheritance from Hindu relatives. The Caste Disabilities Removal Act 1850 was repealed in 1973, and a convert is ordinarily excluded unless provided for by will or rights had already vested.[6]

Does a Muslim wife's conversion dissolve her marriage?

No. Under section 4 of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, renunciation of Islam by a married Muslim woman does not by itself dissolve the marriage, though she may seek a decree on statutory grounds, and her right to dower is preserved.[5]

What is a Hindu woman's limited estate?

It is a key limit on property rights for women under Hindu law: the restricted interest a Hindu widow takes in her husband's estate under the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act 1937. She may enjoy the property and claim partition, but her power to dispose of it is limited and it passes to her husband's heirs on her death.[9]

Is there a lower registration fee for land registered in a woman's name?

There is no general women-only reduction. A heba or gift between spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren or full siblings is registered for a fee of Tk 100 regardless of value, which makes transfers to wives and daughters inexpensive.[12]