Historic verdict: High Court rules on Muslim man's second marriage
Ranchi (Uttam Hindu News): In a significant ruling, the Jharkhand High Court has clarified that if a person marries under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, that law prevails over any personal or religious law. The court rejected the argument of a Dhanbad pathologist who married for the second time while his first wife was alive. He tried to justify his second marriage by claiming that four marriages are valid under Islamic law.
This case concerns Mohammad Aqeel Alam, a pathologist from Dhanbad. Alam married for the second time under the Special Marriage Act on August 4, 2015. However, just a few months later, his second wife left him and returned to her parents' home in Deoghar. Aqeel subsequently filed a petition for restitution of marital rights in the Deoghar Family Court seeking his wife's return.
During the hearing, the wife told the court that Aqeel Alam was already married and had two daughters from his first wife. She also alleged that Aqeel concealed this information at the time of their marriage and pressured her to transfer the property to his father's name. When she refused to comply, she was even assaulted.
In the family court, Aqeel himself admitted that his first wife was alive at the time of his second marriage. The court found that he had deliberately concealed this fact at the time of marriage registration. Interestingly, Aqeel initially declared his second marriage invalid to avoid paying maintenance, but later began claiming the same marriage as valid and demanding his wife's return.
Aqeel appealed the family court's decision to the Jharkhand High Court. A division bench of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Rajesh Kumar upheld the family court's decision, stating that Section 4(a) of the Special Marriage Act clearly states that neither party must have a spouse living at the time of the marriage.
The court said in its judgment, “The Act begins with a 'non-obstante' clause, which means that the provisions of the Special Marriage Act will take precedence over any other law, even religious, in force.” The High Court dealt a major blow to Aqeel by dismissing his petition.
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