Influences:
World War 2: Human Rights Violations
Effect: Enshrine Notions of Individual Protection
Partition: Communal Violence/ New Nation
Effect: Assurances of "equality" to minority communities
As a result the Bill acts not really as a political break, but a continuum on values and ethos of earlier regime combined with contemporary socio-political scenario. A balancing act, leading to a "dilution".
Hindu Code Bill takes up the issues of Gender Equality and Women's Rights which were bereft a place in the "smooth governance" concerns of the Constitution. Yet, the Bill can be dissected more in the paradigm of Nation Building - a homogenizing project, aiming to codify a culturally diverse Hindu community into a uniform "legal" community - thus diluting issues of Women's Rights to arrive at a minimum consensus.

Right of Inheritance
Right limited to self-acquired property of father and not ancestral property rights. Moreover, this right could be desisted by throwing the separate property back to the common stack of the coparcenary to avail incentives like tax reliefs to coparcenaries under the Income Tax Act.
Equal rights to sons and daughters.
Property of childless woman devolves to husband's heirs and in only in their absence to her own parents.
Distinction between heir of father and heir of mother, the latter cast in an inferior category.
No safeguards to Women's Property Rights as under Islamic Law.
Modelled on English Law Model of rights of an individual.

Right to Divorce

No provision for economic security.
Right to divorce by mutual consent deemed too "radical" and foregone.
Almost a barter of rights of residence and economic security to that of divorce and subsequent destitution.

Monogamy
Not immediately effectual due to custom-ridden and pluralistic Hindu society. Failure to curb polygamy.

Confusion regarding exact marriage procedures. Rigidity of the Law towards Vivah Homa, Saptapadi and other similar customs as tools to prove validity of marriage. As a result providing the scope to wriggle out of marriages (in spite of cohabitation, children, etc.) and claims of maintenance.
Detrimental even in comparison to earlier law, which would provide maintenance obligations in polygamous marriages.

Formal Equality
Equal rights and obligations of spouses towards each other. Both have equal rights to matrimonial remedies and ancilliary reliefs. Inequality in inheritance, equal in legal obligation to maintain husband. "Customary" enough to prevent right for divorce by mutual consent, yet "progressive" to maintain husbands.
Husband could claim for Restitution of Conjugal Rights against the wife if she works away from the matrimonial home against the husband's wish. This "sacramental" notion of the husband as the "Lord" of conjugality continued in court decrees throught to the 1970's.

Comparison to Local Customs
Murumakkattayam Act, 1933. Applicable in Malabar region. Already equipped with the right to divorce.
Scriptural Laws and Customs. Females as "Stridhana" heirs have rights superior to males, parents superior to in-laws.
No principle enacted which did not already exist somewhere in India, yet several liberal "customs" discarded for the sake of uniformity
Constitutional Challenges

Decree by Andhra Pradesh High Court in July, 1983 announcing the Restitution of Conjugal Rights clause as unconstitutional, a gross violation of the individual's right to privacy guaranteed by Art. 21 of the Constitution. Also violates Art. 14 dealing with "equality of protection" by working to the benefits of the husband, deeming equality projected on unequal relations as "perverse".

Delhi High Court defended both sections later announcing "restitution" as a tool to help the court in coaxing and cajoling parties to resume married life. " In the privacy of Home and Married Life, Art. 14 and Art. 21 have no place."

The Supreme Court overruled the decree of the Andhra Court as well, announcing that the provision of "restitution" always had the objective of ensuring conjugality through coercive measures.

Question of Who is Hindu?
The problematic notion of Hinduism as a centralised, coded religion as opposed to a cultural system. The code defines Hindu as
(a) to any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments,
including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahma, Parthana or Arya Samaj,
(b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion, and
(c) to any other person domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion, unless it is proved that any such person would not have been governed by the Hindu Law or by any custom or usage as part of that law in respect of any of the matters dealt with here in if this Act had not been passed, which the court elaborates as

"Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence, recognition of the fact that the means of ways to salvation are diverse and realisation of the truth that number of gods to be worshipped is large is the distinguishing features of the Hindu Religion" from Tilak's Gita-Rahasya.
Paramount importance on "National Integration", establishing supremacy of the State over the religious institutions, balancing between "tradition" and "modernity", bound by the Constitution of the "Modern" State, yet professing continuity with ancient, sacred laws to bring in "selective" reforms.

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Main Features

Providing Monogamy and Divorce as legal option for all Hindus.
Notion of Marriage as not merely Sacramental but a Contract as well.
Notions of gotras, castes and religion not valid.

Pre-requisites For Marriage

Neither are "idiotic" or lunatic at time of marriage.
Neither has spouse living at time of marriage.
Bride has completed the age of 15 and Groom the age of 18 at the time of marriage.
They are not within degrees of "prohibited relationship" or "sapinda"s.
Consent of guardian if the age is below 16.

Conditions of "Nullity": Void and Voidable Marriage

Breach of Pt.3 and Pt. 5 above demands a punishment (upto 15 days imprisonment or Rs. 1000 fine or both) but the marriage doesn't become a nullity.
Breach of 4 can possibly lead to nullity and definitely punishment. (upto 1 months imprisonment or upto Rs. 1000 fine or both)
Distinction between Void and Voidable Marriages in keeping with English laws.
Marriages solemnised after commencement of Act can be declared Void if Pt. 2 and 4 are violated.
Marriages solemnised before or after commencement of Act are Voidable if
a) either party to marriage is impotent at the time and continues to be so when the petition is filed
b) either party was lunatic at the time of marriage
c) if respondent was pregnant at the time of marriage bysome person other than the petitioner.
d) if consent of spouse or legal guardian was obtained by fraud or force.

Nullity on ground c) can be granted only if proved that the petitioner was ignorant of the fact and the petition was filed within one year of commencement of act (for pre-act marriages) or one year of marriage (for post-act marriages) and matrimonial intercourse on consent has not taken place since the discovery of pregnancy.

Nullity on ground d) can be obtained only if proved that the petition was submitted within one year of discovery of fraud or ceasure of
force and the petitioner did not consent to live in conjugality after ceasure of force.

6. No Marriage solemnised before or after the enactment of the act can be lawfully dissolved unless a decree to that effect is passed
by an authorised court.

7. Petition for nullity can only be submitted by either parties to marriage. If the parties choose not to present a petition, the marriage will
remain in force

Procedure, Rituals and Registration of Marriage

A Hindu Marriage can be solemnised with "customary" rites and ceremonies of either party. If the custom includes Saptapadi, the marriage is solemnised, "complete and binding" after the seventh step.

Provides for registration, though it is not necessary and non-registration does not lead to invalidity.

Empowers state governments to frame rules leading to registration and they have power to impose fines on failure to supply necessary particulars.

Conditions for Divorce

Adultery of respondent
Respondent ceases to be Hindu by conversion to some other religion.

Incurably unsound mind of respondent for 3 uninterrupted years just preceding the time of petition.

Incurable and virulent leprosy for 3 uninterrupted years just preceding the time of petition
Venereal disease in communicable form for 3 uninterrupted years just preceding the time of petition.
Renouncement of world by entering a religious order.
Respondent not known to be alive for 7 uninterrupted years just preceding the time of petition to those people who would "naturally" know
Not resuming marital intercourse for a period of 2 years and upwards after the decree of judicial separation has been passed.
Failure to comply with the decree of restitution of conjugal rights for a period of 2 years and upwards after the decree has been passed.
For wife, additonal conditions are,

10. Other living wife or wives at the time of solemnisation of marriage or husband taking another wife at a later period.

11. After solemnisation, the husband has been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality.

Also, The Fair Trial Rule suggests (another offspring of British Law),

No marriage can be dissolved unless 3 years have elapsed since the day of solemnisation of the marriage though the court is empowered to dissolve earlier in cases of exceptional hardship.

Conditions for Grant of Judicial Separation

Desertion for a period of two years or more.
Cruelty
Leprosy
Venereal diseases in the Respondent not contracted from the petitioner
Habitually unsound mind from the date of marriage
Adultery

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