The Madras High Court held that a person of Hindu faith, who wishes to marry a person of another faith, be it a Christian, Muslim or any other faith, should get the marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act in order to avoid illegality attached to the void marriage and the consequent legal marital status of the parties thereto.

The Appeal before the High Court was filed against the judgment of the Family Court decreeing the suit of the plaintiff seeking a declaration that the marriage solemnized between the plaintiff and the defendant-appellant was null and void.

The Division Bench of Justice RMT.Teekaa Raman and Justice N.Senthilkumar held, “Admittedly, in the case on hand, no such registration has taken place and hence, we have no other option but to hold that since no such registration having taken place in the instant case as required under Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the marriage solemnized between the plaintiff and defendant is null and void.”

Advocate R. Karunanidhi represented the Appellant while Advocate S. Sukumaran represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The plaintiff is a Christian and the defendant belongs to the Hindu religion. The marriage of the plaintiff and the defendant was performed in the year 2005. After the marriage, the defendant was not interested in living with the plaintiff and she always expressed that she married the plaintiff due to her parents’ compulsion.

As the marriage was not registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the plaintiff filed the suit seeking to declare their marriage null and void. The Trial Judge decreed the suit. Hence, the defeated defendant–wife approached the High Court.

Reasoning

The Bench took note of the fact that both the plaintiff and defendant belong to two different religion and two different faith and their marriage was not performed as the Christian customs and rites. It was also not registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

Elucidating on the law relating to the Special Marriage Laws and the Hindu law, the Bench observed that under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, if both the parties to the marriage belong to two different religions and two different faiths, then their marriage can be registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The word used “a marriage of any two persons” has been given a judicial interpretation that in the event of inter-faith marriage, to provide registration for such performance, the Special Marriage Act, 1954, was enacted. The marriage between a Hindu with non Hindu, be it Muslim or Christian or any other religion, as per the Hindu customs and rites is not valid under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the marital status of the parties has to be necessarily declared as void.

“In order to be a valid marriage under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, one of the parties to the marriage must be a Christian. On the contrary, in view of the specific wordings used in Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, it is desirable for the persons, who belong to different religions, to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, as per the procedures mentioned therein before the Marriage Officer notified therein”, it said.The Bench declared the marriage solemnized between the plaintiff and defendant as null and void as no registration had taken place as required under Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

“It is to be noted that there cannot be a valid form of marriage between an Indian Christian and a Hindu woman celebrated according to Hindu customs and rites. A marriage under Hindu Law with Hindu customs and rites and ceremonies is not permissible between a Christian and a Hindu. A marriage between the Hindu and a Christian is possible only under either the Christian Marriage Act or under the Special Marriage Act. No such marriage took place between the plaintiff and the defendant under the above-said Acts.” Thus, upholding the order of the Family Court, the Bench stated that there cannot be a relationship of husband and wife, in law, between the plaintiff and defendant.

Taking note of the fact that for multiple reasons, Hindu faith persons are performing their marriage according to the Hindu customs with the non-Hindu faith person, which is not approved by the Court of law, the Bench put forth a note of awareness by saying, “A person of Hindu faith, who wishes to marry a person of other faith, be it a Christian, Muslim or any other faith, in short, non-Hindu, such a marriage should be registered under the Special Marriage Act, in order to avoid illegality attached to the void marriage and the consequent legal marital status of the parties thereto.”

Cause Title: A v. B (Case No.: A.S.(MD) No.96 of 2016)

Appearance:

Appellant: Advocate R. Karunanidhi

Respondent:Advocate S. Sukumaran

Click here to read/download Order


Madras High CourtJustice RMT. Teekaa RamanJustice N Senthil KumarSpecial Marriage ActHindu Marriage Act 1955

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.