Religious Conversion and Bigamous Marriage

Karthik.T | Sastra Deemed University Thanjavur | 28th June 2020 

SARALA MUDGAL and OTHERS VS UNION OF INDIA

FACTS:

In this case, there are four main petitioners. The first petitioner was Kalyani, an NGO that works for needy and distressed women. The second petitioner was Meena Mathur, who married to Jitender Mathur. Meena finds that Jitender had converted to Islam and solemnized second marriage with Fatima. Now Meera had complained on Jitender that he 

Had converted to Islam only for doing his second marriage which violates the provision of section 494 of Indian penal code. In all the cases the husband was a priority married a Hindu woman and then had an interest in another woman and converted to other religions and married other women. To avoid legal complications they converted to Islam so that the Islam law permits a man can have four wives. the third petitioner was Fatima contended that after marrying her Jitendra Mathur had again reconverted to Hinduism and leaving his first wife. She says that still she is Muslim but not being maintained by her husband. the fourth petitioner was Gita Rani who contended that she was married to Pradeep Kumar according to Hindu rites. In 1991 she came to know that her husband had run with Deepa and had converted to Islam and married her. 

ISSUES:

1. Whether a Hindu husband married Hindu women under Hindu law is allowed to embrace Islam and then can marry other women.

2. Whether the husband can be charged under section 494 of the Indian penal code.

LEGAL PROVISION:

Section 494 of Indian Penal Code

OBSERVATION

The court has observed that the men, in this case, have married other women by converting to Islam religion. The Islam personal law says that an Islam man can marry four women . the court observed that the main aim of all men is only to marry women and not other than that and held that a Hindu marriage continues to exist even after one of the spouses has converted to Islam. there is no automatic dissolution of the Hindu marriage which only can be dissolved by a decree of divorce under section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

JUDGEMENT:     

The court held that the second marriage of Hindu men after converting to Islam is void under section 494 of the Indian Penal Code. And the husband is liable to be prosecuted for bigamy. The Supreme court directed the Prime Minister to take a fresh look at article 44 of the Indian Constitution which says that the state to secure a uniform civil code and the court is imperative that they should protect all the women and promotion of national unity and integrity.