Exploring The Legal and Social Dimensions of Evolving Marriage Norms: A Focus on Sologamy and Same Sex Marriage

This research paper inquires about marriage from social as well as legal dimensions. Marriage being the universal social institution, it forms the most basic part of the society. However, with the evolving society, the marriage institution is also witnessing new trends, in form of sologamy and same sex marriage. However, in India, the traditional marriage norms fail to recognise these new trends in marriage and continue to hold its conventionally rooted constructs. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the marriage laws in India with reference to the evolution nature of relationships and contemporary societal values. This paper uses doctrinal methodology approach which undertakes detailed analysis of statutory provisions and case laws to evaluate the adequacy of existing marriage laws. This paper also evaluates the evolving social norms with reference to Indian society. The paper proceeds to explain the contemporary challenges being faced by India in legally recognising the new forms of marriages and concludes with an affirmative note by summarising the whole research outcome. Keywords: Marriage laws, Samesex marriage, Sologamy, Indian legal framework