Muslim Marriage Remains Governed By Shariat Law Despite Later Registration Under Special Marriage Act: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court has held that a marriage solemnised under Muslim personal law/Shariat Law continues to be governed by that law even if it is subsequently registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

The Court clarified that mere registration under the 1954 Act does not alter the legal character of such a marriage or make the provisions of the Special Marriage Act applicable for divorce.

A Division Bench of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice T.M. Nadaf dismissed an appeal filed by a Muslim husband challenging a Family Court order which had rejected, as not maintainable, his divorce petition under Section 27(1)(d) and (e) of the Special Marriage Act.

The Bench held: " We are of the considered view, that mere registration of a marriage which has been performed in accordance with the law of the community i.e. Shariat law for the Muslims or Hindu Marriage Act for the Hindus or Christian Marriage Act for the Christians etc., will not lose its colour of being marriage under such law merely on the act of registration."

Emphasising a harmonious interpretation of the Special Marriage Act and personal laws, the Court further observed: "Once the marriage is performed under the particular law governing the community of the parties, the mere registration under the Special Marriage Act would not lose its colour and effect of the marriage being under the Shariat law or Hindu law or Christian law."

Background

The parties, both Muslims, had solemnised their Nikah on April 4, 2015, in accordance with Shariat law, after which the Nikah was duly registered with the Registrar of Nikah.

Since they intended to travel abroad, they subsequently registered their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, and a marriage certificate was issued on December 21, 2015.

Following matrimonial disputes, the husband approached the Family Court seeking divorce under Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act.

The Family Court dismissed the petition, holding that the marriage had been solemnised under Muslim personal law and that its subsequent registration under the SMA did not convert it into a marriage governed by that statute.

Before the High Court, the husband argued that once a marriage is registered under the Special Marriage Act, it loses its character as a Muslim marriage and must thereafter be treated as a marriage under the SMA, making its divorce provisions applicable.

Rejecting this contention, the High Court accepted the submission of the amicus curiae that only marriages solemnised under the Special Marriage Act, and not those merely registered under it after being performed under personal laws, are governed by the Act for purposes including divorce.

The Court also distinguished a Delhi High Court decision relied upon by the husband, observing that in that case, the marriage itself had been solemnized under the Special Marriage Act, unlike the present case.

Finding no merit in the appeal, the Division Bench upheld the Family Court's view and dismissed the case.

Recently, the Karnataka High Court had held that a Muslim man's second marriage solemnised under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, during the subsistence of his first marriage is void ab initio.

The High Court observed that parties who voluntarily choose to marry under the Act are governed exclusively by its statutory framework and cannot subsequently rely on their personal law to validate the marriage.

Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum dismissed a writ petition filed by a woman claiming to be the second wife of the deceased (defendant) in a partition suit, upholding the trial court's refusal to implead her as his legal representative, while affirming the impleadment of the daughter born of the relationship.

"It is true that Mohammedan personal law, subject to the conditions and limitations recognised therein, permits a Muslim male to contract more than one marriage. Such permissibility, however, operates only within the domain of personal law governing marriages solemnized thereunder," the Court said.

The legal position, however, changes fundamentally once parties opt for the Special Marriage Act, it added:

"The Act is a secular and self-contained code governing the conditions, solemnization and consequences of marriages contracted under its provisions. Once parties consciously invoke the provisions of the Act instead of their personal law, they subject themselves to the mandatory statutory regime enacted by Parliament."

The Bench emphasised that the rights and obligations arising from such marriages are determined exclusively by the Special Marriage Act, not by personal law.

Case Title: SRI SAZEED PARVEJ v FARZANATAJ NISAR KHAN